A Slight Mishap
by sapphire-angel-gem
Summary: Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.
1. A Small Accident

**Disclaimer - **I do not own any of the charcaters, or the places that the characters happen to be in, in this story. That honour is bestowed onlyupon J.K Rowling.

Chapter One

A Small Accident

What is the meaning of normal?

Many people would define it as being within the perimeters that society sets. Anything outside these perimeters is considered _abnormal._

Harry Potter is one person that would be considered to be outside these perimeters, simply because so many odd things seem to happen to him. No one, not even he, could deny that he was not normal, even though he did wish that he was. From the moment his parents had died, to this very day, Harry's life had been filled with many odd happenings. The now-sixteen-year-old was resigned to this fact, but it didn't mean that he liked it.

"Harry, wait up!"

Harry stopped in the middle of the long hallway and turned around to see a girl with bushy brown hair running to catch up with him. Finally she skidded to a stop beside him and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"What's got you in such a rush Hermione?" he asked.

Hermione Granger glared at him and, when she had caught her breath, she stood up straight, an anxious expression on her face.

"You shouldn't have walked out of class like that," she said reprovingly.

"He shouldn't have insulted me like that," Harry retorted, continuing to walk with Hermione falling into step beside him.

Professor Severus Snape, the nastiest teacher at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, had it in for Harry and took vindictive pleasure in insulting him and anyone close to him. Harry had finally cracked and barely five minutes previously and stood up, packed his bag, and walked out of Potions, the class Snape taught.

"Well, at least I know he's going to let you back into class," said Hermione gloomily.

Harry opened his mouth to ask 'why?', but then shut it, deciding that he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Where's Ron?" he asked instead.

Hermione shot him an annoyed side-long glance.

"After you left he yelled at Snape," she said. "He's talking to the professor about his detention now."

"Am I going to get detention?"

"No, but you are going to be punished."

"Okay Hermione," said Harry, irritated, stopping in the hallway and pushing his glasses back up his nose. "What do you know that I don't?"

"ProfessorSnape'sgoingtomakeyoutestyourageingsolutionnextlesson," Hermione said in a rush, obviously relieved to say it.

"Slowly," said Harry.

"Professor Snape is going to make you test your ageing solution next lesson," said Hermione and watched as Harry's emerald eyes darkened somewhat.

They stood like that it silence for a moment as Hermione watched him anxiously from her brown eyes. Finally Harry huffed and pushed his messy black hair out of his eyes, exposing the lightning bolt scar for a brief moment.

"Do I look like I should care?" he asked, continuing to walk again. "I did my potion carefully and it looks about the same colour as yours."

"Actually, it looks exactly the same colour," said Hermione.

"There! See? Nothing to worry about," said Harry confidently.

"But, Harry, I missed one of the instructions on the board."

Harry stopped again and stared at her. She stopped too, wringing her hands in her anxiety.

"What?" he asked.

"I missed an instruction. There was one last step to the potion that I didn't see because of all the smoke in the dungeon. Obviously you missed it too."

"Snape is going to make me drink a botched potion?" asked Harry incredulously.

"Umm… yes, it looks like it," said Hermione.

"Harry! Hermione!"

The two Gryffindors turned and saw the red-headed Ron Weasley dash up the now empty corridor as everyone went into the Great Hall for lunch.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked when he reached them. "Nice of you to wait and all, but it _is_ lunch time."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Actually I was just telling Harry about his punishment and how we both destroyed our potions by not doing the last step," said Hermione.

"Oh yeah, that," said Ron, waving his hand as though to say it was nothing to worry about. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about Hermione. It's probably all in your mind."

"It is not!" retorted Hermione. "I actually saw the line that I missed as I left the classroom!"

Ron shook his head bemusedly.

"Just drop it," said Harry with a sigh. "We'll see if something terrible happens tomorrow morning, won't we? No use arguing about it."

Hermione and Ron dropped the argument immediately and followed Harry in silence back to the Great Hall for a quick lunch.

"What do you have to do for detention?" asked Harry when they were sitting at the long table.

"Oh, Hermione told you about that did she?" asked Ron, surprised. "Well, he didn't actually say. He just yelled at me for a little while for yelling at him and then told me I would serve detention. But he forgot to mention when and where."

"He'll probably call you tonight," said Harry, feeling more cheerful again, like he had been that morning. "Last minute sort of thing, you know."

"Thanks Harry," said Ron, scowling.

"At least I can prepare for what I have to do," said Harry, smiling slightly. "I'm sure nothing too bad will happen. Potion probably won't even work!"

Someone came and sat down opposite Ron and Hermione and next to Harry. She smiled at all three of them and flicked her long red hair out of her face.

"Hi," said Ginny Weasley cheerfully. "How are you all?"

"Pretty good," said Harry with a smile lighting up his face while Ron and Hermione, unbeknownst to him, let smirks appear on their faces.

"That's good," said Ginny, helping herself to some food. "What did you have last?"

"Potions," said Harry with a scowl. "And I walked out of potions…"

"Again?" said Ginny reprovingly. "I'm surprised Snape lets you back in his class."

"Technically he can't do anything," said Harry, ignoring his lunch completely. "Because he's the one that provokes me in the first place. But that doesn't mean he doesn't get to think of a nasty punishment. I have to test my botched ageing solution tomorrow morning."

"Nasty," said Ginny, biting into her sandwich, chewing and swallowing. "Aren't you going to eat Harry?"

"What? Oh, I'm not that hungry. I might go for a walk."

Harry got up, waved goodbye to the three of them, picked up his bag, and walked out of the Great Hall. Once in the Entrance Hall he headed straight for the large double front doors and exited the castle. He walked swiftly down to the lake and, when he reached it, he breathed a sigh of relief, dumped his back at the base of the tree, and sat down.

There was so much to think about. A month of school had only gone by, but it seemed like it was much longer then that.

Harry started as three people suddenly sat down beside him and he looked around to see Hermione, Ron and Ginny looking at him somewhat defiantly.

"So much for a walk," said Ron. "Why did you come out here?"

"I just wanted to think," said Harry. "But it doesn't really matter now. How angry is Snape exactly?"

"Really angry," said Ron. "I think it's more the shock that you aren't either retorting or staying silent anymore, but just walking away, even in his own class. 'Course the bitter old git…"

"Ron!" said Hermione reproachfully.

"…the bitter old git should have expected something like this to happen," continued Ron as though there had been no interruption.

Hermione scowled but decided to let the subject drop as there wasn't really much she could do about it since Ron wasn't going to listen to her anyway. Harry and Ginny just sat there, fighting furiously to contain laughter.

Harry found that he started dragging his feet on the way to potions the next morning, which surprised even himself. Surely he wasn't dreading this lesson that much?

"Come on Harry!" Hermione said for what seemed the millionth time. "We'll be late!"

Harry sighed and made an extreme effort to pick up his pace a lot. Soon he found himself jogging alongside his two best friends in a desperate, but futile, attempt to get to class on time.

"Late I see," sneered the tall, bat-like professor with black robes and hair as they rushed into the classroom. "Ten points from Gryffindor each for your tardiness."

Harry scowled, but didn't comment, as the bell had rung barely ten seconds previously. He put his bag down on the floor, but before he could sit Professor Snape held up a vial with a potion in it.

"Mr Potter here decided that he was going to leave class early once more, without my permission," said Snape, the triumph in his voice evident. "Though, as the bell only rang five minutes later, I was unable to give him detention, I have thought of a sufficient enough punishment. Mr Potter will drink the ageing solution he had _thought_ he had finished yesterday morning."

Snape uncorked the vial and handed it to Harry with something close to a smile on his face. Harry looked at the vial with dread curling in his stomach as the Slytherin's looked on eagerly and the Gryffindor's watched anxiously.

He could, of course, refuse to drink the potion, but who knew what other horrors Snape would have in store for him? Harry looked up and met Snape's eyes.

"Well Potter?" said Snape. "We are all waiting. Are you going to drink the potion or not? Or do you think your own potion skills so abysmal that something terribly wrong will happen?"

"I'm not really sure I see the point in drinking a potion that isn't completed, which means something _is_ going to happen," said Harry.

Snape sneered.

"Potter, stop procrastinating and drink it."

"Why don't you?" asked Harry, his eyes narrowing. "You seem to have a lot of confidence in my abilities."

Snape glared at him fiercely and didn't answer for a moment. When he did, however, there was a deadly chill in his voice.

"Drink the potion. Now."

Harry looked apprehensively at the potion once more and sighed resignedly before putting it to his lips and draining the vial of every last drop.

Everyone watched either eagerly or apprehensively as Harry swallowed the potion and then stood. Nothing happened. The Gryffindor's, along with Harry, were about to breath a sigh of relief when unbelievable pain struck Harry's stomach and he doubled-over, clutching his stomach and breathing as though winded.

There was complete silence as Harry fell to his knees, feeling pain in every region of his body. Suddenly Hermione screamed as Harry, robes and all, began getting smaller and smaller, still very much in pain.

Finally they could see that the pain had stopped and Harry, no taller then a toddler, was hiding his face in his robes. He appeared to be shaking slightly.

"Harry?" said Hermione cautiously, approaching.

There was no response and she knelt down beside him and pulled the robe away. She and the whole class gasped in shock and horror as Harry gazed up at Hermione with large fear-filled green eyes.

Nothing more then a toddler.

**A/N - **Here is the first chapter of a story that is not spoken about on my user page, but oneI have been working on for ages, inspired by my cousin, who is a toddler. She's so cute!

Also, thank you to all those who reviewed on _Baking Trouble_, it made me feel so good to know people actually like whatI write! I hope you all like this story too!


	2. The Toddler

**Disclaimer - **Harry Potter does not belong to me, nor do any of his friends and ememies, nor theplaces they may be at. The only thing that belongs to me are any changes in character, particularly Harry's character...

**A/N - **Second chapter up! It took me awhile to write this chapter, then edit it, asI don't have a beta as of yet. I could ask my sister, but I'm a bit particular about my writing, and am not too fond of her messing with it. Anyway,I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter Two

The Toddler

There was a dull _thump_ as Hermione fell to her knees in front of Harry, staring. Ron's knees gave way and he fell into the chair beside her. Harry stared back at them both, obviously terrified. Then, to everyone's horror, his eyes began to fill with tears.

Desperately Hermione moved forwards and, not sure what else to do, she pulled him toward her and let him calm down somewhat.

"What do we do now?" asked Ron, looking to Snape, hoping that he would have some sort of antidote.

But Snape was looking as bewildered as the rest of them.

"Take him to Professor Dumbledore," he said after a long silence. "The headmaster will know what to do."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and stood up together. Harry looked up at them, still frightened, but scrambled to his feet anyway. Hermione bent to pick him up, but he backed away, the fear increasing. So she just offered her hand to him, which he tentatively took.

Ron led the way out of the silent class and Harry stumbled along behind them, hanging onto Hermione's hand for support.

_His hand is so small_, Hermione thought in wonder, involuntarily tightening her grip.

They travelled in silence, looking occasionally back at the still terrified Harry.

"Nearly there," Hermione gently coaxed and Harry determinedly picked up his speed.

Finally they reached the stone gargoyle, but then they realised that they didn't know the password.

"Now what?" asked Hermione.

Before Ron could answer the gargoyle moved aside to show the moving staircase. The sight of it made Harry stare, then suddenly burst into tears.

Ron and Hermione looked desperately at each other as Harry quietly sobbed in front of them.

"Come on," Hermione finally said and pulled the still crying toddler up the stairs.

When they reached the top Harry was still crying, completely terrified, and not having any idea of what was happening. The door swung open and they entered to see Dumbledore in deep blue robes sitting at his desk.

"Sit," he said kindly.

Harry's sobs quietened, but he still sniffled as he clambered up on one of the tall chairs and seem to shrink back in it. Dumbledore merely smiled and raised his wand. A stream of different coloured bubbles came from the tip and floated around Harry's head. Fascinated he reached out a small hand and touched one. It burst, only to be immediately replaced. Laughing in delight Harry set about the task of bursting them all and watching them reappear before starting the process again.

"Now," said Dumbledore to Ron and Hermione. "How about you tell me how Mr Potter has become considerably younger?"

"It was in Potions sir," said Ron as though that explained everything.

"Professor Snape insulted Harry yesterday and he walked out of class," said Hermione, explaining. "Today Professor Snape made him test h ageing solution, but it hadn't been completed… and this is the result."

They all turned their eyes to the toddler, who was now completely immersed in happiness as he played with the bubbles.

"It is quite strange to see him like this," Dumbledore finally said. "But I imagine that a lot of questions we have about Harry can be answered as we find out what his childhood was like."

Before anyone could answer Fawkes trilled from his perch and flew over to rest on the arm of Harry's chair, startling him from his task. He looked curiously up at the bird, then let a smile spread on his features.

"Bird," he said, tentatively reaching out a hand to gently pet Fawkes.

His voice was so child-like! So… so… unlike Harry! It didn't really seem possible to Ron and Hermione that the little toddler in front of them was once their sixteen-year-old friend.

"He's very gentle," murmured Hermione, not expecting a response.

"Harry," said Dumbledore gently to the little boy and he looked up. "Can you tell us anything about your aunt and uncle?"

The effect of those simple words were quite astonishing.

Before they could blink Harry's eyes were filled with terror and he jumped off the chair, startling Fawkes. Two seconds later he hid under Dumbledore's desk and refused to come out.

"Come on Harry," coaxed Hermione, kneeling on the floor again. "What's wrong?"

"Don't send me back," said Harry, shaking his head. "Don't send me back!"

Astonished Ron looked up at Dumbledore, who was looking troubled.

"We won't," Hermione promised.

"But we have to bring them here for a little while," Dumbledore added. "Then they will leave."

Warily Harry crawled out from under the desk again and looked at Dumbledore.

"Promise?" he asked in a small voice.

"Promise," agreed Dumbledore.

Dumbledore straightened and sighed.

"I'm not sure how long I will be gone," he said. "There are a few people I must inform. Please keep him occupied while I am gone."

He waved his wand a box suddenly materialised in the corner of the room, unnoticed by Harry. Then the Headmaster left, letting the bubbles all pop.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"Well," said Hermione with a shrug. "I suppose we better occupy him, or he might hide again."

Ron nodded and strode over to the large blue box, pulling out the first thing he found. It was a brown teddy bear with a large red bow around his neck.

"How adorable!" said Hermione happily, taking the bear from Ron's hands, who was looking stunned. She went over to Harry. "Look Harry! Do you like the teddy bear?"

Harry blinked up at her and stared up at the bear, which Hermione was holding just out of his reach.

"Do you like the teddy?" Hermione continued, taking the whole business of occupying Harry entirely too seriously. Harry looked ready to run again and he had a look on his face that suggested he was not too pleased with all the cooing. "He's really cute, isn't he Harry? Do you…?"

"Hermione!" snapped Ron. "Just give him the bear!"

Hermione started and stared guiltily at Harry.

"Sorry," she murmured, giving the bear to Harry.

Harry blinked again and stared at the bear, surprised. He looked up at Hermione again, as if seeking confirmation that he could have the bear, and she smiled and nodded, pleased.

Hesitantly Harry reached out and took the bear and then hugged it, staring at Ron with his suddenly vulnerable looking green eyes.

"Hey Hermione," said Ron suddenly. "What did you do with Harry's glasses?"

"They're in my pocket," said Hermione distractedly, watching Harry cuddle the bear. "I knew he'd want them when he turned back."

Ron nodded and went to the toy box again.

They spent the next hour playing with Harry, letting his experience the joy of children's toys. He had seemed hesitant, wary, at first, and Ron knew that he was waiting for them to take the toys away again. But then he had warmed up to the toys and let them coax him into playing, though he did so shyly.

Finally Harry sat back and, clutching the bear, yawned widely. It was then Hermione and Ron realised that Harry was also going to have the sleeping patterns of a toddler.

Impromptu naps and all.

"I will not have anything to do with it!"

Ron started when he heard the bellowing voice, but quickly looked at Hermione when she nudged him, hard, in the side.

"Harry?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry used that as all the incentive he needed to dart behind his best friends and seem to become even smaller, looking frightened.

_Harry's uncle,_ Ron suddenly realised.

As if on cue the large beefy man Ron had only met once and seen too many times came storming into the room, followed by an only slightly calmer Petunia Dursley, a rigid looking Mrs Weasley, a concerned Mr Weasley, a calm Remus Lupin, an angry Sirius Blackand a slightly amused Dumbledore.

All the visitors stopped in shock when they saw the small boy cowering behind Ron and Hermione and staring at his uncle. Vernon Dursley took a few steps toward him… in one fluid movement Hermione and Ron stood protectively in front of Harry, staring icily at Vernon.

"How did this happen?" asked Petunia, shocked.

"There was an accident in his Potions class," said Dumbledore.

"I HOPE YOU AREN'T SUGGESTING…!" Vernon started.

"No, I am not suggesting you take him," said Dumbledore, all trace of amusement gone now. "I am merely informing you of the change. If he has not been returned by the summer holidays then I am afraid you will have to take him for a few weeks."

Petunia and Vernon stared at each other, obviously horror-struck.

"We looked after him when he was a real child," growled Vernon. "And we will not take him when, through his own carelessness, he has somehow gone back in time. We are not, and never plan to ever be again, equipped to deal with toddlers."

Dumbledore looked only slightly taken-aback by this, as though he had not been expecting resistance. But then a childish voce spoke up.

"You promised," Harry said, standing and looking at Dumbledore. "Don't take me back."

There was stunned silence as Harry looked at his uncle and then returned his impossibly penetrating gaze on Dumbledore. It was so much like the headmaster's gaze that no one knew what to say.

And in that instance Dumbledore knew that Harry couldn't go back to his relatives.

"Alright Harry," said Dumbledore. He turned to Lupin. "Remus, would you be so kind as to escort Vernon and Petunia back to their home."

Lupin smiled, a bit scarily perhaps for the Dursleys cowered, and nodded.

"Of course Albus," he said, and beckoned the Dursleys to follow him into the room adjoining the office.

There was silence for several minutes before Remus returned, scowling.

"It must have been an act of supreme…" he started angrily, but that was as far as he got.

"Moony?"

Remus started and looked down at Harry who had somehow moved to his side without anyone noticing. He was suddenly struck by the familiarity…

Flashback

"_Hey Remus," greeted James warmly and Lily, holding Harry behind him, smiled brightly at him._

"_Hello," said Remus, entering the Potter's home._

_Harry smiled at him, fixing him with his large green eyes, and reached out his arms towards the werewolf._

"_Hold on Harry," Lily laughed. "Wait until we get to the living room!"_

_The three adults went into a large comfortable room, but before Lily could hand Harry over, the little boy spied something and began squirming in an effort to get down._

"_So," said James as they sat on the lounge. "How has life been treating you Moony?"_

_Harry's head jerked up and he fixed Remus with a stare that made him feel slightly uncomfortable before picking something up off the floor. Lily and James laughed._

"_Don't worry about that Moony," said James. "He does it all the time. He scared Lily the first time he did it!"_

"_Must I remind you that the first time you saw it James you got so scared you contacted Dumbledore?" asked Lily sweetly._

_James flushed and mumbled something._

"_Is Harry talking yet?" Remus asked, changing the subject._

"_No," sighed Lily. "I've tried teaching him mum and dad, but he doesn't seem to want to learn them…"_

"_Moony."  
_

_Lily broke off in the middle of her speech and gaped at the young boy suddenly standing right beside Remus, gazing up at him solemnly. James' jaw looked about ready to hit the floor._

_When no one answered something, perhaps annoyance, crossed Harry's face._

"_Moony," he said again, clearly, holding out what he had._

_Remus took it and started. He was holding a wolf doll._

"_Moony," Harry repeated, seeming delighted and proud of his new… first… word._

"_How does he know?" James asked, dumb-struck._

"_I don't know," Remus said, shocked._

_Harry merely smiled shyly at him and went back to playing with his toys._

End flashback

Remus shook himself out of the past and knelt beside the toddler, looking like he was perhaps only two.

"Yes Harry?" he asked, as he had done since the day Harry had first pronounced his nickname.

"Where Pafoot?" Harry asked innocently.

Remus was struck by how the boy did not ask for his parents. Which meant he already knew they weren't coming back. So young…

"Right here kiddo," Sirius spoke up cautiously and stepping forwards.

He had every right to be cautious. There was no way Harry would recognise him…

Sirius knelt beside Harry nervously. Harry looked at him blankly for a moment, then his face lit up as though he had just been told Christmas was early.

"Pafoot!" he said eagerly, and Sirius laughed, sweeping the young boy up in his arms like he had done so often in the past.

Harry laughed and pulled gently on Sirius' ear. Sirius chuckled.

"Still haven't given that up, have you?" he asked.

"It seems Harry is starting to get his childhood memories back…" Dumbledore began, but he too was cut off by Harry's exclamations.

"Granda!"

Everyone, including Dumbledore, froze as Harry reached out to the headmaster. Looking as though he were in a daze Dumbledore moved forwards and took the little boy.

"He remembers that too, it appears," said Sirius with a smile at Dumbledore's shocked face.

"I remember Albus looked just like this the first time Harry said it," Remus chuckled. "James was laughing and teasing Albus, asking if Dumbledore wanted to be Harry's grandfather and, out of the blue, Harry came up with that, which stuck. From then on James called Albus 'dad' whenever he came by."

"Don't forget 'grandma'," chuckled Dumbledore, coming out of his stupor.

"Ah yes," said Sirius. "Lily's 'mum'."

"Who was it?" asked Mrs Weasley curiously.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, which set Sirius and Ron into explosions of laughter.

"You're kidding?" gasped Ron, quite forgetting he was talking to the headmaster, until his mother gave him a disapproving glare, making him turn red.

"No Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore. "I think it time that Harry gets to know everyone else too."

Ron and Hermione were chivvied forwards by Remus, and Harry looked at them curiously.

"This is Hermione," said Remus, pointing to the girl.

Hermione smiled nervously, shuffling her feet a bit as she faced her younger best friend.

"Mione," Harry tried to repeat.

"It's good enough," Hermione beamed.

"And Ron," said Remus.

"Won!" yelled Harry in delight, making Ron scowl and Hermione giggle.

"Ron," said the redhead clearly.

"Won!"

"Ron!"

"Won!"

"Bloody hell!" groaned Ron.

"Won!' said Harry in a scolding tone. "Language!"

Everyone laughed at Ron's expression.

"He got that one from Lily," Sirius laughed, collapsing in a chair.

"So?" grumbled Ron. "I already have Hermione on my case, I don't need a two year old toddler!"

Harry frowned at him, but before Ron could take another blow to his ego Remus intervened.

"This is Mr Weasley," he said hurriedly, pointing out the head of the Weasley clan.

"Mr… Wea… Wea…" Harry frowned, struggling with the unfamiliar word.

"Arthur," Mr Weasley said hurriedly.

"Artur," Harry repeated, relieved.

"And Mrs Weasley… Molly," Remus said, correcting himself.

Harry opened his mouth to repeat it, then closed it, looking curiously at the woman. He reached out to her and Mrs Weasley gladly took him. Gently Harry took a bit of her flaming Harry in his hand and looked at it. Then he smiled shyly at her and closed his eyes, obviously exhausted.

"You got hair like mamma," he said sleepily.

Mrs Weasley stared down at him as he fell asleep. Everyone else was watching her closely to see what her reaction would be. Finally she smiled and looked up, unshed tears in her eyes.

"The answer is yes Albus," she said firmly.

**A/N - **Once again, thank you for the reviews on this story, and my other one. And, to clear something up, yes, I know that this is a sixth-year fic, and I know that i have put Sirius in the story, but I forgot what happened to Sirius whileI was writing andI didn't really want to change it. Hopefully later in the story all will be explained. IfI get too far into the story and I haven't written an explanation, just remind me, because chances are I forgot. Thanks!


	3. Babysitting Can't be that difficult

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Harry Potter or any of that other stuff... just the slightly crazy, half-formed plot

**A/N - **Chapter three is now officially up! I'd go celebrate, but that would be counting the chickeds before they hatch becauseI haven't even finished the next chapter yet. This chapter was written at the same time as chapter one and two and I was sort of half asleep when I attempted to edit it, so if you want to point out any mistakes I've made, stupid or otherwise, feel free too. Otherwise you can just leave a small note to say if you liked the story or didn't like it. Constructive critism is also very welcome!

Chapter Three

Babysitting – Can't be that difficult…

Ron and Hermione, to the protests of the adults, were charged with the care of Harry.

"I feel that it would be better for Harry to remain with his best friends," said Dumbledore. "They will teach him how to get ready for when he finally turns back into his teenage self."

They also found out what Mrs Weasley had said yes to. The Weasleys, Sirius (as Padfoot) and Remus were all staying in the castle for the time being, though Mr Weasley went to work everyday. Remus helped Professor Gerone, their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, with her lessons and Mrs Weasley decided to go and help Madam Pomfrey.

Ron and Hermione had been given two days off classes to settle in and become comfortable with babysitting, as long as they caught up with the work. For this reason it had been debatable about whether Ron would get the small holiday, but this was settled when Hermione promised to make sure he caught up, with an ominous gleam in her eye.

Harry, it seemed, was not much of a worry either. He was shy, quiet, polite, and he never cried, even when he hurt himself. He also had no need of nappies, to Ron's indescribable relief.

Though these qualities were good, they were also slightly worrying. Harry, at the Terrible Twos, was supposed to laugh, he was supposed to cry for no reason at all, he was supposed to demand things, he was supposed to be loud, and maybe even somewhat obnoxious. It was all part of the stage that no carer of a toddler passed unscathed.

Hermione thought that perhaps Harry needed to get used to them. Sirius expressed the idea that Harry was taking qualities from when he was older. Remus thought that maybe he was naturally like this.

Ron, however, bluntly stated that after a year with the Dursleys Harry had probably already felt a lot of neglect to make him this way.

To say that Hermione was astounded that this shocking piece of logic came from Ron's mouth probably would have been an understatement.

However, it soon became apparent that either Harry had decided to dismiss the lingering effects of the Dursley or had gotten used to them and that he truly was the son of a marauder. This delighted Sirius.

"Harry?" Hermione said on the morning they were to return to classes. She approached the crib he slept in, which was situated in the boys' room.

Ron watched, bemused, as Hermione gently tried to shake Harry awake, but it soon turned to confusion when Harry didn't move an inch let alone wake.

"He isn't waking up," said Hermione, turning from Harry to look at Ron worriedly.

At this moment Ron glanced at Harry, who had happened to just at that moment open one of his brilliant green eyes to check on Hermione before quickly shutting it when he saw Ron was watching. Ron stifled a laugh.

"Maybe he's just really tired?" he asked, somehow, though he'll never know how, controlling the urge to laugh.

"Could be," said Hermione. "But classes start soon."

She went back to trying to wake Harry up, cooing to him and shaking him. Soon she began to get really alarmed.

"Ron!" she said. "We have to get someone!"

Harry chose that moment to quietly stand up and wait silently for Hermione to turn around and see him. Which she did a moment later. She yelled out, stepped back, and slipped, landing on the ground.

Harry and Ron collapsed into laughter as Hermione scowled and stood up. She didn't have the heart to tell off Harry, but she did tell off Ron.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked furiously, rounding on the redhead.

"I wanted to see what he would do," said Ron, undaunted and thoroughly amused.

Harry ended the argument by tugging on Hermione's shirt sleeve. He giggled when Ron winked at him, but prevented Hermione from whipping around again by dropping a toy on the floor.

_Smart boy,_ Ron thought with a smirk.

"He used to do that all the time with Lily and James," said a quiet voice in his ear.

Ron swung around to see Lupin standing there, smiling.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"When Lily or James were about to argue about something Harry would distract them until they forgot what they were arguing about. Hs favourite method was dropping toys out of the crib."

The bell rang and Hermione jumped as though she had just been issued an electric charge.

"We're going to be late for class!" she cried, picking up the pyjama-clad Harry and absent-mindedly snatching up his small uniform.

Harry helped, or hindered, Hermione dress him, and by the time that they were finished Lupin had left and Hermione was in a frenzy of panic. Harry just watched her, taking in her attempts to pick up everything at once, even accidentally taking one of Ron's books.

"Hermione, calm down!" said Ron. "You'll get there faster if you are calm."

"But we have Transfiguration now!" said Hermione.

"McGonagall knows that we have Harry to take care of and bring with us," said Ron firmly. "She won't mind overly much."

"Alright then," said Hermione, coming to a halt and trying to organise the books in her arms.

"I suppose I'll be taking Harry then," said Ron, amused.

"Yes, thank you," said Hermione with a relieved sigh.

Ron approached the toddler and looked down at him somewhat warily. The child sitting there, looking at him, was once his best friend. _Still is,_ Ron thought. _Just in baby form._ But it was still quite strange to see him like this, and have to carry him around.

However, it seemed Harry didn't want to be carried.

"Walk?" Harry asked, looking up at him pleadingly.

"Yes," agreed Ron. "We're going for a short walk."

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "Harry walk!"

_Harry walk?_ Ron thought, frowning. Then it clicked. _Oh! Harry wants to walk!_

"Alright," agreed Ron, picking him up and setting him down on the floor. "Can you walk quickly?"

Harry nodded eagerly and grabbed hold of Ron's wrist with both of his small hands. He looked up, smiling.

"Let's go," said Hermione.

They must have made a strange appearance, Ron thought as they walked down the corridors. Hermione was walking quickly down the corridors and then coming back impatiently to walk with them. Ron was attempting to coax Harry into being picked up so they could move quicker. Harry was determinedly walking and trying not to drag too much on Ron's arm, moving slower then his friends.

In the end the journey from the common room to the transfiguration classroom was longer then normal.

"Okay Harry, next time you are being carried," Hermione said firmly, picking Harry up before they entered the room.

Professor McGonagall looked up sternly when they entered and the wand movements from the rest of the class stopped to watch.

"Where have the three of you been?" she asked.

"Walking with Harry," said Hermione promptly.

Out of the corner of his eye Ron saw Harry opened his mouth with a look of delight on his face. McGonagall's eyes widened, knowing what was coming.

"_Silencio,_" Ron whispered, almost inaudibly, pointing his wand surreptitiously from behind his back at Harry.

Harry closed his mouth and gave Ron a child-like glare, most likely picked up from his mum as well. Ron smiled lightly at him, thinking that McGonagall would really not like being called 'Grandma' in the middle of class.

"Set him over there," said McGonagall, so relieved that she forgot to scold them, pointing at the playpen in the corner. "Then go sit down. We are transfiguring mushrooms into small statues."

Ron made a face that he was very glad no one saw and Hermione lowered Harry into the playpen, not noticing his unnatural silence. Ron, controlling the urge to laugh at the child's glares, quickly said the counter charm.

Harry gave him one last, heated glare, and sat down to play with the magical abacus.

McGonagall had sat down at her desk to grade essays and Ron and Hermione were concentrating on their mushrooms. So no one noticed that Harry had looked up from his game and was staring intently at the box of mushrooms until Lavender Brown shrieked.

They all looked up and gaped. The box of mushrooms was floating through the air and as they watched they dropped into Harry's lap, who laughed.

"He must be powerful," murmured Hermione, shocked.

"Must be," said Ron.

Harry picked up one mushroom and careful set aside the rest of them. Hermione gasped as he looked her way, but he wasn't frowning at her. He was staring at the perfect puppy figurine on her desk.

Slowly Harry's hands began to glow and the mushroom got bigger. Harry's frown deepened and Hermione started forwards, intent on telling him off. But then her jaw dropped again.

Along with everyone else's.

For in Harry's lap now was not a mushroom. It wasn't even a statue like Hermione's.

It was a little puppy with thick black hair, sound asleep.

There was a stunned silence, which seemed to have a knack of following Harry around lately. No one could quite believe what had just happened. It was…

"Impossible," breathed Hermione. "No one can do that!"

"A mushroom is a plant Miss Granger," said McGonagall. "It once had life in it. Only two other wizards in the world have ever done it, but we know that living things can be transfigured from other living things."

"But they only transfigured bugs and ants," Hermione said. "They couldn't get anything like this."

McGonagall nodded, watching in interest as the puppy opened its eyes and yawned widely, shaking it's fur and blinking.

"It's adorable!" whispered Parvati Patil.

"I don't understand though," said Hermione, turning to McGonagall. "Harry is only two and he has just achieved something Merlin himself couldn't… or wouldn't."

McGonagall had a strange look on her face. Hermione turned back to Harry, unaware that her teacher was caught in memory.

Flashback

"_So, Minerva," said Lily as they sat at the small kitchen table. "How has the job at Hogwarts been going?"_

"_Very full on," sighed McGonagall. "I was woken at two o'clock in the morning on the day before holidays to deal with a pair of trouble makers!"_

"_Anything like the marauders?" asked Lily innocently._

"_No, nothing like them thankfully," smiled McGonagall. "I am glad it is the holidays though. How has Harry been?"_

"_No different to how he was two days ago when you last stopped by," said Lily, very amused. "He really has stolen your heart, hasn't he 'mum'?"_

"_Me and everyone else that has met him," agreed McGonagall, sipping her tea. "I've yet to find one person that can resist his charm."_

"_I hope he won't be like his dad," sighed Lily._

"_Why not?" asked McGonagall with a chuckle. "He'll have girls swarming over him!"_

"_Not that part," grinned Lily. "I'm just worried that he'll encourage it to the point that when he gets tired of them they won't leave him alone!"_

"_Where is James by the way?" asked McGonagall._

_Lily opened her mouth to answer when a large _boom_ rocked the house to its foundations._

"_Home," sad Lily with a sigh, changing her answer. "He took Harry out…"_

"_Lily!" came a shout from the living room._

_Lily and McGonagall were on their feet in an instant, wands drawn and running to the living room. But when they arrived they found only a stunned James, sitting on the floor, and a laughing Harry, sitting a few feet away._

"_Honestly James," sighed Lily, moving forwards and picking up her baby. "I thought you weren't going to be back until later!"_

"_I wasn't!" said James, getting to his feet. "Harry's hands glowed and suddenly we appeared here amongst a lot of noise!"_

_Harry laughed harder at this announcement and held his hand out to James. James moved forward to take it, but before he could get to his son he started floating in the air. In wonder McGonagall saw that Harry's hand was glowing as he laughed at his father._

"_Okay Harry, put daddy down now," coaxed Lily. "Daddy doesn't want to be up at the ceiling. Put daddy down Harry."_

_Harry's hand stopped glowing and James crashed to the floor, massaging his head._

"_We've raised a menace!" he said in horror._

"_No," said Lily resignedly. "We've raised another marauder."_

End flashback

The bell rang and Hermione and Ron moved forwards, jerking McGonagall out of her memories. Hermione picked Harry up, but left the puppy behind.

"Puppy," said Harry, reaching down again.

"Here," said Ron, scooping up the black dog, quieting Harry, who smiled at him, earlier annoyance completely forgotten.

"Bye bye Grandma," Harry said as they were leaving, making the students around them break into whispers.

McGonagall, surprisingly enough, just chuckled.

**A/N - **Well,I hoped you all liked this chapter. I actually wrote this one over a few times, and I'm still not entirely sure about the end result. I just hope it isn't too bad. ButI suppose you have to make mistakes to go forward!

Also, I'd like to respond to the reviews that I got from the last two chapters, asI hadn't had much of a chance to do that as yet. Thank you to these people;

**fudgebaby - **To tell the truth, I can't wait to see either. What is going to happen is going to be as much a surprise to me as it will be to everyone else, which is strange, becauseI usually have these things so well thought out! Thanks for both your reviews!

**athenakitty - **Snape hasn't really been able to make his way much into the story yet, but he will sometime soon. The Dursleys? I don't want them to die exactly, but something will definitely happen to them for them (no clues!) Not saying anything about Harry's time either.As for an anitidote... see above, I'm as clueless as you right now. Also, thanks for pointing that out for me, I will eventually get around to taking care of it.

**Anakah - **Your question should have been answered in this chapter, and, personally, having her take care of Harry would actually defeat a bit of the purpose of the story. Harry's friends will give him a bit more freedom then Molly would. And I agree about the hair thing, it was my favouritepart to writein the story.


	4. Illness

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Harry Potter... yadda, yadda, yadda...

**A/N - **Not too much of a delayI hope. I actually only finished writing this chapter today, soI hope it is fine! Be warned though, the delays in my writing are nothing compared to what they will be when school year starts, especially as I'm entering yr 11, and am told I will have a mountain of homework to endure... nightmare...

Chapter Four

Illness

Potions, unsurprisingly, was the worst lesson to have with the changed Harry. But, surprising enough, Harry was not perturbed by any of the insults thrown at him.

"Quiet," Snape snapped the moment he swept through the door, his black robes billowing behind him, and the little chatter there was stopped completely.

Harry was sitting on the seat between Ron and Hermione, his cauldron before him, because there had not been any playpen to put him in.

"Mr Potter will contribute to this lesson," said Snape with a sneer, making Ron and Hermione exchange alarmed looks over Harry's head. "As instructed I have provided a number of liquid, non-harmful ingredients which are beside his cauldron. The rest of you are now to make the antidote to the ageing potion. Begin."

Harry smiled and picked up one of the vials beside his cauldron, which contained a blue liquid. Hermione and Ron exchanged one last look before taking turns to get what they needed. When Hermione returned Harry was smiling at a bubbling brown liquid, even though there was no fire, which had a horrendous smell.

"We just need to keep an eye on him," Hermione murmured and Ron nodded.

Harry didn't seem to need to have an eye kept on him, however. In fact he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing, stirring the contents of the cauldron happily, ignoring everyone else, including Snape and Malfoy, and pouring the liquids in.

By the time there was fifteen minutes to the end of the lesson Harry had poured the last liquid in the cauldron and was stirring it with small yawns.

Suddenly the liquid went clear and Harry smiled.

"Very good Harry," Hermione praised wearily, collecting the vials and taking them back to the front desk.

"Harry, stop!"

Hermione whipped around at Ron's cry and everyone else froze, wondering what had now befallen the unfortunate boy.

Harry had picked up a knife, but it slipped through his fingers, cutting his hand. Harry put a hand over it, but he didn't cry. Instead he sidled closer to his cauldron and, before anyone could stop him, plunged his hand into the liquid.

They all waited with bated breath, even Snape, wondering what would happen now. But when Harry pulled his hand out of the cauldron his hand was completely injury-free and the liquid was still the same.

Snape sidled closed and peered at the cauldron. When he looked up he looked surprised.

"This is a mild healing potion Potter," he snapped. "It was made a few months before your parents died! How did you make it?"

Harry only laughed at him.

Seeing that Snape did not take well to being laughed at Hermione snatched up Harry and they hurried out of the class as the bell went, Ron behind them.

"That was brilliant Harry!" laughed Ron as they went up to the common room.

It seemed Harry was not thinking of the lesson though.

"Black?" he asked Hermione, using his new pet's name.

"Yes, we're going to see Black," Hermione agreed, automatically heading up to the boy's dormitories where the puppy was waiting.

"I think that Black has stolen Harry's heart," said Ron in amusement.

"Same as Harry took ours?" inquired Hermione, making Ron smiled sheepishly.

It was true. Harry had stolen the hearts of every student not a Slytherin and every teacher that wasn't Snape, and it was only his first full week of being a toddler. Harry and his puppy had become quite a familiar sight around Hogwarts now.

That didn't mean that being babysitters of an innocent child, who was sweet in every way was easy. Sometimes it seemed Harry just got tired of being overly good and did something to lighten the mood.

The last trick had been hiding all of Ron's books in Dean's drawer. How Harry achieved that without anyone noticing he was missing for awhile halfway through the day they had yet to figure out.

"Black! Black!" Harry called happily as they entered the dormitory.

The puppy yipped excitedly and raced over to them. Obviously he had been bored during his stay in the dormitory.

Hermione set Harry down on the ground and, to their surprise, Harry crawled over to the puppy. Ron and Hermione stared for a moment, surprised at seeing this. Harry always preferred to walk and this was the first time they had seen him down on his hands and knees.

They watched as Harry and Black mucked around, but when the bell went Hermione had to pull the reluctant Harry out of the dormitory, leaving a forlorn puppy.

"See him at dinner?" Harry asked, reminding Ron that they did not attend lunch.

"After dinner," Hermione corrected. "You must be hungry after missing lunch."

"Nah," said Harry. "See Black."

Hermione laughed as they went down to Charms. Luckily they weren't too late and Professor Flitwick merely smiled at them and told them to sit. Flitwick had been one of the professors very taken with Harry. He liked to watch the young boy to see if he displayed any signs of magic not unlike in transfiguration. Harry had yet to do so.

"Today will just be a fun lesson," said Flitwick excitedly. "I have set up a number of targets around the room and I would like to see you all shoot a steady stream of bubbles at them. The more bubbles in a row that hits the bullseye the more points you get. The person with the most points at the end of the lesson will receive house points."

Hermione and Ron laughed along with everyone else at Flitwick's enthusiasm for this exercise. Harry laughed too, but it was quite obvious that he didn't know what was so funny; he was laughing just because everyone else was.

Looking around the room Hermione noticed for the first time the seemingly muggle targets set up around the walls of the room. It was strange seeing them there, but as no one else seemed perturbed she shrugged the feeling off and got to her feet with the rest of the class.

Harry was delighted by all the bubbles, but stayed strangely silent, only smiling with the occasional burst of laughter. He seemed more intent on watching them. It took Hermione awhile to realise what he was doing.

He was trying to find out how to shoot the bubbles.

Hermione just grinned, shook her head, and returned to the targets.

By the end of class she was just as flabbergasted as everyone else, except perhaps Professor Flitwick, who was exclaiming happily.

Harry had not only figured out how to make bubbles and shoot them – without the use of a wand – but had also beaten everyone in the class hands down with extraordinary aim. In other words he hit the middle of the target every time.

"Unreal," Ron said in shock as they watched Flitwick give the innocent child a suspiciously muggle looking lollipop. "How did he…?"

Ron shook his head with a small smile.

"Probably better not to ask," he murmured.

The bell rang loudly for the end of class and Ron grinned.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts!" he said, the frowned at Harry. "Are you okay Harry?"

Harry nodded his head in true Harry Potter fashion, even though they could see Harry was not well at all. The class gathered around them as Hermione pressed a hand to Harry's forehead.

"You're warm Harry," she said with a small frown. "You aren't feeling well?"

"Yeah!" Harry said earnestly. "Feel well!"

"I think we should get you checked just in case," Hermione said, nodding.

"NO!" Harry said, his eyes widening. "Feel well 'Mione!"

"Obviously not well if he's on the verge of a tantrum," Ron muttered, earning a glare from Harry and Hermione.

"We're going to go to the hospital wing Harry," Hermione decided.

"No, no, no!" Harry said, shaking his head so violently Ron was surprised Harry didn't get somewhat dizzy.

Hermione resisted the urge to blink and stare in shock and tightened her grip on Harry.

"You are sick Harry," she said firmly. "You must go see Madam Pomfrey."

"Not sick!" Harry said, looking up at her pleadingly.

Hermione and Ron almost gave in then, and if it hadn't been for Lavender they would have done.

Lavender plucked the frantic boy out of Hermione's arms, letting her blink in surprise. She firmly sat Harry on her hip and looked down at him sternly, not being taken in by his large green eyes for once.

"Harry Potter," she said sternly. "You can't do anything if you are sick, did you know that?"

Harry soundlessly shook his head.

"You can play," Lavender continued, and Harry's eyes widened. "You have to be carried everywhere, and you have to spend all day in bed. Do you want that?"

Harry shook his head again.

"So, will you go up to the hospital wing?" Lavender asked gently.

Harry nodded his head and Lavender smiled down at him, making his relax considerable.

"You go with Hermione and Ron," she said, handing him back to Hermione, who was staring with an open mouth. "And see Madam Pomfrey. And make sure to tell her how long you've been feeling sick!"

"Yes Lav'der," Harry murmured, staring at his feet.

Lavender winked at Hermione and Ron and ushered the rest of the class out of the door.

"That was something I never expected to see in my life," Ron said when they were alone.

Hermione nodded and walked out of the classroom, heading to the hospital wing.

"He was developing the flu," Hermione told the Gryffindors at dinner as an extremely grumpy Harry Potter refused to take the food Ron was pleading with him to eat. "A really nasty bout too. Madam Pomfrey gave him some medicine, but it won't come into effect until tomorrow morning."

"Why?" asked Parvati.

"Apparently Harry hasn't been feeling well for the past three days," said Hermione with a scowl. "And he hid it well too."

"Hermione," said Ron in a strained voice. "A little help please?"

Hermione looked first at Harry's plate – the food on the plate was half-gone – then at Harry – who was stubbornly turning his head away from the food – and lastly to Ron – who was covered in half of Harry's dinner, clutching a small fork. She couldn't help it… she giggled.

"Glad to see you find it funny," Ron growled. "But can you tell me how Harry is supposed to eat his dinner when I am wearing it?"

Hermione swallowed the rest of her giggles and sat up straighter.

"Harry is now recovering from the flu Ron," she said sternly. "So he may not feel hungry. And if he doesn't eat anything then he will just have to go straight to bed after dinner because he is obviously very sick."

Harry's eyes widened impossibly and he moved forwards, eating the mashed potato on the end of the fork. Hermione grinned and turned back to her own dinner.

Harry ate only a quater of his dinner and no dessert, even though it was put in front of him. Everything that he didn't eat ended up on Ron when he tried to get him to eat more of it. Not even the threat of bedtime got Harry to eat more.

"Not hungry," Harry said.

Finally, as the hall was nearly empty, Hermione picked Harry up and followed Ron back to Gryffindor Tower. Once there Ron stalked upstairs to have a shower without a word, ignoring his grinning sister. Ginny came over and smiled brightly at Harry and Hermione.

"Hi Hermione!" she said cheerfully. "Hi Harry!"

"Gin-Gin!" Harry squealed happily, looking more alive then he had the past few days, making Hermione wonder how she had missed the illness.

"I'm not going to get out of that nickname, am I?" Ginny asked ruefully with a small smile. "And Ron will tease me about it for the rest of my days!"

"I think it's cute," Hermione grinning, sitting Harry comfortably on her lap. "It will be funny to see if Harry calls you that when we've found the cure.

Ginny laughed, and Harry did too, finding her laughter contagious.

"I'd love to see that," she said, grinning mischievously. "I can see it now. Harry will accidentally call me 'Gin-Gin' and then get horribly flustered, wondering where that came from and apologising all the way."

Hermione smiled brightly as Harry leaned back more against her, yawning slightly.

"I think someone is tired," she said with a smile down at Harry.

"Not sleepy," Harry murmured, forcing his eyes open and looking up at her.

"You can stay up a little while longer," Hermione gave in, knowing Harry would be a sleep in a minute or two anyway.

The two girls fell silent for a moment, watching as Harry fought sleep. Ginny broke it with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"It's strange, seeing him like this," she said. "The youngest any of us have ever seen him was when he was eleven, and now suddenly he's two years old!"

"I know," said Hermione. "Even stranger is that he is depending on us for everything now when he was so independent before, never needing help." Hermione thought for a moment then smiled wryly. "Well, almost everything now anyway."

Ginny laughed and looked down at Harry.

"He's asleep," she said quietly.

"I'll tell you something told me," Hermione said quietly, motioning for Ginny to move in. "She told me not to tell Ron, because he wouldn't take it too well. Madam Pomfrey thinks that because Harry is in an environment where he can test the boundaries without the fear of getting locked up like at the Dursleys he will be entering his two-year-old stage."

"The Terrible Twos," whispered Ginny, her eyes widening in comprehension and horror. "Oh no."

"It's not that bad," said Hermione with a frown.

"It is," said Ginny. "If you thought the Terrible Twos were bad for muggle children… well, they're even worse for magical children."

Hermione blanched at the thought, remembering quite clearly looking after one of her cousins when the child was in the midst of the Terrible Twos. Then she thought about what Harry was starting to be like now and what he was like as a teenage. She groaned and put her head in her hands.

"We're not going to survive," she moaned.

**A/N - **I don't really have much else constructive to say so... reviews!

**Heather - **You have hit the nail on the head and I wish you could hear my applause! It is one of the main focus points of my story and will become more and more important asI continue to write.

**lildevil425 - **Again, on the Snape issue, I don't have much time for him right now, but it will come. The girls... well, as a hint, I have a scene all planned out. I'm going to give them credit for subtelty though. Finally, that is one of my alternate endings. I have to figure out which one to use. Either that, or I'll go down a completely different track!

Thanks also to;

**imgonnadie**,** Black's Phoenix**,** FairyQilan**,** DracoisHot906 **and **fudgebaby**.

Small note... I just recently released that I had to click a button to allow anonymous reviewers. Sorry to those who wanted to review anonymously before.


	5. Sugar High

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Harry Potter

**A/N - **Well, here we are. I have finally finished chapter five! I'm sorry it took so long, but my muse decided to go on a bit of a holiday whenI got bombarded with all my homework. Anyway, Enjoy!

Chapter Five

Sugar High

To Hermione and Ginny's great relief Harry seemed to have decided that now was not the time to test the boundaries. Obviously the fear of being chucked in the cupboard and locked in had not yet diminished.

Another three days passed without incident and without any magic on Harry's part. Finally, on Saturday, Ron came up with the idea to take the two-year-old down to visit Hagrid.

"It will do Harry some good to get fresh air," Ron said. "And we haven't gone down since the accident. Hagrid will love to see Harry now."

After Hermione agreed Ron enthusiastically bounded up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, Harry giggling happily in his arms. Obviously Harry was not the only one who needed fresh air.

Sometime later they knocked loudly on the door of Hagrid's hut and were greeted by loud barking from Fang. The grinning half-giant opened the door.

"Hello!" Hagrid said with a smile. "I was wondering when you were going to come and visit me!"

"We've been a bit busy," said Hermione, struggling to hold Harry, who was trying to wriggle out of her grasp.

"Starting to be a bit of a handful?" asked Hagrid, ushering them inside so Hermione could set Harry down on his feet.

"You could say that," grinned Ron. "He isn't too bad, he hasn't had a tantrum yet, thankfully. The closest he got was when Hermione tried to take him to the hospital wing."

Hagrid laughed at that.

"Shoulda seen that one," he said, chuckling.

Meanwhile Harry's attention had been diverted to Hagrid's large bed. As Hermione watched he got down on hands and knees and crawled underneath.

"Harry," she said warningly. "Come out from under the bed please."

"No," said Harry stubbornly.

Hermione scowled.

"Now," she ordered.

"No!"

Before Hermione could lunge forward and drag the two-year-old out from under the bed Hagrid stepped forwards and knelt down, bending over so he could see Harry.

"Why don't you want to come out Harry?" asked Hagrid.

Harry moved further back so he was almost unseeable in the darkness, but Hagrid saw his eyes flick briefly to the large boarhound. Hagrid nodded in comprehension.

"Fang won't hurt you," Hagrid said gently. "I know 'e's big 'n all, but 'e wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Harry met Hagrid's eyes for a moment before crawling forwards and allowing Hagrid to pick him up, keeping an eye of Fang, who was being petted by Ron.

"Big dog," said Harry, clutching the front of Hagrid's shirt in a death grip.

"Very big dog," Hagrid agreed. "Have you seen other big dogs?"

"Yeah," Harry said, looking up. "Near auntie's house. Uncle says big dogs are mean. He says they eat bad boys!"

He buried his face in Hagrid's shirt while Ron and Hermione looked on in bewilderment. Hagrid's face turned stormy.

"Ruddy muggles," he growled. "I think it's time someone paid them a visit."

"We should let Dumbledore handle them," Hermione said, obviously worrying over what Hagrid would do to Harry's relatives.

Hagrid rolled his eyes, but handed Harry to Ron and nodded reluctantly.

"Fine," he growled. "I'll ask him about it later."

Hermione smiled at him, a tinge of relief on her face.

"What animals are we going to be studying Hagrid?" asked Ron.

"Eh?" asked Hagrid, thrown by the change in topic.

"In Care of Magical Creatures?" Ron prompted (**A/N – **I know in the real book they don't do this subject, but it is relevant for the plot.)

"Oh," said Hagrid. "Next lesson I was thinkin' about bringing in some salamanders."

Ron and Hermione shared an alarmed look.

"I have an area set up for Harry too," Hagrid continued. "I had Professor Dumbledore ward it and everything so the creatures can't get in."

Hermione and Ron grinned in relief and asked Hagrid more questions about his subject, which he answered with relish.

Hermione and Ron entered the Great Hall tiredly. It had been a long day, especially with Harry being so difficult now. The trudged over to Gryffindor table and sat down heavily.

"Harry getting to be a bigger burden then you thought?" asked Ginny with a laugh.

"I just wish we had a few hours away from him," sighed Ron, and surprisingly Hermione nodded wearily.

"I think you got your wish," said Ginny, starting to frown.

"Why?" asked Hermione uncomprehendingly.

"Well, where if he?"

Hermione and Ron looked around. Ron cursed. Harry was nowhere to be found.

"I can't believe we forgot about him!" moaned Hermione as they jumped up and ran back to the kitchens, where they had last been with him, talking to the house elves.

"It's not out fault Hermione," Ron tried to sooth, then thought about it. "Okay, so it is. But we were tired!"

They burst through the painting concealing the kitchen and stopped in horror.

Harry was running, shrieking happily, around the tables, one after the other and back again. He face was covered in chocolate. A weary house elf came up to him.

"Oh good, you has come back to get little Harry Potter," it said, looking exhausted. Then it started running as Harry barrelled towards it, chasing it.

"He's been chasing us around," said another house elf, panting. "This why dinner is not yet served."

From above them they could hear restless mutterings. Then Dumbledore spoke.

"I have just got word that there appears to be a… disturbance of the smaller kind in the kitchen, running rampage," he said, the humour evident in his voice. "Dinner will be here shortly."

"How much chocolate has he had?" asked Hermione quickly.

"A lot," came the answer before the house elf was chased away by Harry too.

"Harry!" Hermione called. "Please come here!"

Surprisingly Harry immediately changed his path and ran up to Hermione. She caught him as he jumped into her arms and she quickly took him out, hearing a collective sigh of relief from the house elves.

"I think it'll be a long time before we get you any more chocolate," Ron groaned as they walked up to the Great Hall.

Everyone laughed as the tired teens and bouncing two-year-old entered the hall. Mrs Weasley made as if to stand up, but Dumbledore said something and she pursed her lips and stayed. Harry allowed the two of them to strap him into his high chair and put some of the newly appeared food on his plate.

Hermione and Ron were just thinking that Harry was behaving exceptionally well when Harry scooped up a handful of mashed potatoes and threw it, hitting Seamus in the face. Harry squealed in delight.

"Harry," moaned Ron as Harry took aim and fired again, this time hitting Denis Creevy.

"Fun!" he said, hitting Neville with a gooey mixture.

"Stop," commanded Hermione, catching one of Harry's hands. "Food is for eating, not throwing.

Harry took the lid off of his drink and, before she could move, poured it over Hermione's head, saturating her in pumpkin juice. Then he flung his peas at Ron and his meat landed in Ginny's lap.

It seemed then that Harry had no more ammo and they could eat in peace, for Hermione, fuming because of the pumpkin juice, had already decided Harry would get nothing more to eat for that, not that he needed it after the chocolate. However, they were very much mistaken.

Every plate in Gryffindor for some reason, decided that they were going to fly up and chuck the owner's dinner in their faces. Harry just laughed as they all spluttered and wiped their dinner's off their faces. Snape sneered down at him and got his dinner in his face too.

Suddenly, without warning, Harry's tray clicked off and Harry slipped out of his seat, to the floor, and began crawling under the table. Finding it boring just going to the one table he went to Slytherin table, causing havoc as he went by knocking people over and causing plates to over turn with magic. He was like a mini-Peeves.

"I hate chocolate," said Ron, banging his head on the table.

Then Dumbledore's goblet decided to upturn itself on the headmaster's head, obviously without Harry having specifically told it to, but he knew it had been him because he had frozen at the front of Slytherin table and was staring. The whole hall fell silent.

"Uh oh," Harry whispered.

"Uh oh is right young man," said Dumbledore in a stern voice as he stood, quite the sight in his pumpkin juice drenched robes and hair.

Harry crawled out from under the table and stared properly up at the headmaster. His eyes were still wide, showing he was still suffering from too much sugar and would be impossible to get to sleep that night, but he knew when he had crossed the line.

"I think we need to talk about the rules Mr Potter," said Dumbledore. "At dinner we behave ourselves. We do not throw food, or make the plates and cups throw food at people. We do not crawl under the table and push people over. And we certainly do not let our carers get in such a state. Do you understand?"

Harry scrambled to his feet and looked down at the floor, nodding.

"Now, I suggest you go and sit quietly at Gryffindor table."

Harry ran back to Ron and Hermione. His cheeks were flushed with shame and his eyes were apologetic. Then he waved his arm and suddenly the tables and people were clean of his missiles.

"Thank you Harry," said the now-clean Dumbledore, sitting down again as Harry scrambled up into his high chair with everyone watching him.

Slowly talk started again. And then people started laughing about what had just happened, even the Slytherins. Ginny grinned at Harry and Ron laughed while Hermione struggled against a smile. Even Dumbledore was smiling now and Harry looked incredibly relieved.

"Sorry 'Mione and Won," he said abashedly.

"It's alright Harry," sighed Hermione, picking him up and depositing him in her lap. "We shouldn't have left you in the kitchens where you had access to house elves, and through them, _sugar._"

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "I eat chocolate. Not sugar."

"Sugar is in chocolate," explained Hermione.

Harry thought about this for a moment, his brain's gears working furiously.

"Sugar in lollies?" he asked.

"Yes."

"No sugar in vegies?"

"That's right."

"Sugar is good!" Harry declared, but, by the groans around them, the students disagreed with them, at least when Harry was under the influence of said sugar.

"It's bad for teeth," Hermione said.

"What happens?" asked Harry.

"Your teeth rot and they fall out and they don't grow back," said Hermione.

Harry looked horrified. He clapped his hands over his mouth.

"Teeth fall out?" he asked, terrified, his voice slightly muffled.

"Yes," nodded Hermione.

"Sugar bad!" Harry said, eyes wide.

Hermione nodded gravely and winked at Ron, who stifled a laugh at how Hermione was working on Harry's young, impressionable mind.

When dinner was finished they made a relatively quiet journey to the Tower, Harry pointing out various animals in the pictures and asking what they were. Hermione answered cheerfully, in her element of teaching people things.

They knew that they would not get Harry to sleep that night so they set him in an armchair as they settled to do their homework.

"What do you think Ginny should see in her crystal ball tomorrow that Trelawney will believe?" Ron asked Harry thoughtfully, not really expecting him to answer the question.

Harry got an evil smile that just looked wrong on his innocent face.

"The grim!" he said excitedly.

Ron blinked and Hermione laughed.

"It appears some things stay with him," she giggled. "And he knows the right way to rile up that old fraud!"

Ron chuckled and made a mental note to tell Ginny to do that for him tomorrow and started his Charms homework.

"This is so boring," he complained after fifteen minutes, being careful not to swear in front of Harry (he had gotten more reprimandings for that from Harry then he had ever gotten from Hermione).

"Ron," warned Hermione. "If you do it now, than it will be done."

"Yeah Won," said Harry, nodding, though Hermione didn't think he really understood the situation.

"Shut it Harry," Ron scowled. "You are such a hypocrite."

Harry giggled and fell silent.

At about ten o'clock Harry finally fell into an exhausted sleep and Ron and Hermione sighed in relief. Today had been a tiring day.

"Hey, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up to see Lavender, Parvati and a few other girls standing there, smiling at her.

"What is it Lavender?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We heard what you and Ron said about a break at dinner, so we came up with an idea," said Parvati. "We even ran it by Ginny and she said she would help us. But we wondered if we could take Harry for the day tomorrow."

Hermione blinked and yawned.

"Do you know how to properly look after him?" she managed sternly.

Lavender nodded and so did the other girls.

"You won't lose him?" asked Hermione.

"Of course not," said Lavender. "We'll take good care of him."

Hermione looked at the sleeping Harry thoughtfully. As much as her instinct was telling her to keep him close, she knew she and Ron needed a break or they would be soon having a nervous break_down_. Lavender and her friends were offering the perfect release for the day, or at least a few hours…

"Alright," she said finally. "But you must give him back when we come for him, and please don't let us forget him, alright?"

"We promise Hermione," said Lavender solemnly.

The girls said their goodnights and went up to their respective dormitories. Hermione sighed and prodded Ron awake.

"Ron," she said when he had woken. "Lavender and some other girls are going to look after Harry for us tomorrow before we collapse. Is that alright?"

"Good idea," said Ron in relief. "Just as long as they give him back."

"Ginny will make sure they do," Hermione assured him.

They two of them said goodnight and headed up to their rooms, Harry sleeping soundly on Ron's shoulder. Ron carefully put Harry in his crib and looked around for a moment, taking in everything. There was a chest of drawers that had small yellow ducks painted all over a light blue background. There was a small bookshelf for children's books. Harry himself had changed the colour of his bed posts the same blue as the chest of drawers. Black was sleeping at the end of Harry's bed and the bear, which was the first toy Harry had ever played with, was now being hugged by the sleeping Harry, who was sucking his thumb. By now used to this event (when he had first seen Harry do it he had stared for a good ten minutes) he continued looking. The toy chest had been moved from Dumbledore's office to the end of Harry's bed and he liked playing with the toys in there. A dog basket and bowls for food and drink were beside the bookshelf, though the basket was rarely used. Harry's trunk had obviously been stored somewhere because it was nowhere to be seen. It looked like a mini-nursery. The picture was completed by a big picture of frolicking kittens above Harry's bed.

Ron smiled as he looked down at his best friend. He walked over to his own bed, changed, and got in. He took one last look at Harry through the bars of the crib and fell asleep, his last thought being that he was glad the girls were taking the young boy tomorrow.

**In the next chapter - **How will Harry react to finding out that his 'carers' need a break... from him? How will Harry face his first, terrifying adventure, that he hadn't even meant to have, as a toddler while in the care of people with no common sense? Look out for 'In the Hands of Giggling Girls'!

**A/N - **Did you like the chapter? Hate it? Let me know!

Thanks to - momocolady, Satan Junior, Fancyfree, imgonnadie, FairyQilan

There was a request from FairyQilan. I'll make sure to add that to the story when he hits that stage. It should be fun!


	6. In the Hands of Giggling Girls

**Disclaimer - **See chapter one - five

**A/N -**Finally! It's finished! I need to do a dance of victory! I'm sorry about its lateness by the way. There's been so much that's been going on that I didn't even find time to write! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Six

In the Hands of Giggling Girls

Ron woke slowly as sun was pouring in through the window. He smiled as he thought of the day ahead of him. He would get up, get Harry ready, hand him over to Lavender, then go back to bed for the rest of the day for some much needed sleep.

Suddenly Ron wondered why he was waking up. Usually something had to wake him up, but today he had woken himself. It must be late then. The dormitory was completely silent. All he could here were a few birds singing, a faint chatter from downstairs and breathing next to his ear.

His eyes flew wide open and he sat bolt upright in a panic, his heat beating painfully hard. A small giggle met his ears. He swung around to see Harry was sitting patiently right next to where his ear had been, obviously waiting for him to get up.

Ron shook his head a smiled ruefully at the fright Harry had given him.

"Little monster," he growled playfully, tickling Harry and listening as his laughter filled the room. "You scared me half to death!"

Ron picked the young boy up and changed him out of his pyjamas and into a shirt and some trousers. Harry's help was a bit more welcome then it had been when they had started doing this, because he had learned, at least, which buttons went in which holes. For some strange reason he still could not put his socks on the right way.

"Guess who you're going to see today Harry!" Ron said cheerfully. "Lavender and some of her friends are going to look after you!"

Harry's eyes widened and he sat up straighter.

"I be good!" he said earnestly.

Ron looked at him oddly.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

Harry slumped forward with a miserable look on his face.

"Won and 'Mione don' wan' me?" he asked.

"We do!" said Ron hastily. "It's just… everyone needs a day off sometimes, and today is our day off."

"Oh."

Harry fell silent anymore and moved away when Ron went to tickle him to get him to smile. It was a thoroughly miserable Harry Potter that Ron took down to the common room where the girls from last night and Ginny were waiting, talking to Hermione.

"Oh, Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione when she saw his upset face. She picked him up, noticing how hard he was clutching his bear. Strange, he didn't normally carry that around. "What happened Ron?"

"I don't know," said Ron, shaking his head helplessly. "One moment he was really happy, then he wasn't. He got a bit upset when I told him that Lavender was going to look after him today…"

"Ron," sighed Hermione. "He most likely thinks that since he was so naughty yesterday we don't want him anymore."

Harry nodded at Hermione's shoulder.

"We do want you Harry," Hermione assured him. "And we'll be coming to get you later this afternoon, okay?"

"'Kay," said Harry in a small voice.

Hermione smiled, hugged him, and gave him to Ginny. Then she and Ron walked out of the common room.

"Well, what do you want to do Harry?" asked Lavender.

"Go outside?" Harry asked tentatively.

All the girls except Ginny giggled and talked about how cute Harry was in low voices. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Outside it is then!" she said. "But you can't go near the lake, alright Harry?"

"'Kay Gin-Gin," said Harry, considerably more cheerful now.

Ginny sang songs as she walked down the corridors to the surprise of the students, and Harry even joined in while the girls trailing them shot them glances.

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!" they sung loudly as they walked out the front doors, singing a muggle song Ginny's dad had taught her. Harry clapped his hands happily and they sung the song all the way down to the tree near the lake.

"Last stop!" Ginny announced and Harry giggled. "Everybody off!"

Ginny put Harry down on the ground and all the girls sat, watching him. Harry shot a longing look at the lake but, before Ginny could remind him not to go near it, he ran in the opposite direction and picked a white flower.

"Here Gin-Gin," he said cheerfully, giving the flower to her, then ran off to pick more, quite happy.

Ginny laughed as she watched Harry inspect the grass, and the leaves, and the flowers. He even inspected all the butterflies.

After awhile Ginny decided to go and get some breakfast from the kitchens.

"Look after him," she ordered the girls before leaving.

"Harry!" called Parvati when Ginny had disappeared into the castle.

Harry looked up and ran over. He smiled up at her.

"Aw!" she gushed. "How would you like to go near the lake?"

Harry's smile dropped and uncertainty entered his eyes.

"Gin-Gin says not 'lowed to," he said, taking a small step backwards.

"I think that she's being overprotective," said Parvati, waving a hand carelessly. "Nothing will happen to you Harry. Just keep close to us."

Harry looked up at her, but he didn't get much of a choice to say what he wanted to do before one of the girls took his hand and led him towards the lake.

"Look here," she said, gently leading Harry to the edge of the water.

Harry bent down and touched the water with tentative hands and then jerked back. The girls giggled and cooed. Soon Harry was sitting at the water's edge, splashing to his heart's content.

"HARRY POTTER!" came a furious yell. "_What_ _are you doing!_"

Harry looked up innocently as Ginny came barrelling towards him, her face flushed with anger, a basket in one hand. She looked furious and the other girls moved away from her.

"I _specifically_ told you _not_ to go near the water!" she yelled at the startled toddler. "What if you slipped into the water and _drowned?_ What is the giant squid got you? What is the grindylows got you? What would I tell everyone? 'Oh, sorry, I don't have Harry with me because _he drowned in the lake'!_"

Harry moved back from her, towards the water.

"Why did you have to actively disobey me Harry?" Ginny asked with a sigh. "You should do as you are told and I told you to not go near the water! Why did you go near it?"

"Parvi says you ober-potetive," Harry said. "She says okay."

Ginny's mouth fell open as she stared at Harry, who stared back at her apprehensively. She could have hit herself. She just yelled at Harry for something that wasn't even his fault! She swung around to face Parvati.

"You do know how dangerous the water is for a toddler, don't you?" she asked angrily. "Harry isn't a sixteen-year-old now! If he fell in the water, he can't swim back and save himself. He would drown!"

"I- I'm sorry Ginny," said Parvati abashedly.

Ginny opened her mouth to say something else but Harry cut her off.

"Gin-Gin!" he cried fearfully.

Ginny turned and felt her heart leap into her throat. Harry had still been sitting at the water's edge, she hadn't moved him. And a long-fingered hand had shot out of the depths of the sea and grabbed Harry's ankle, slowly dragging him into the water.

Ginny didn't think about her actions. She ran forward, threw herself down and grabbed hold of Harry under his arms, stopping his slow progress. Harry gripped her arms as tightly as he could and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Hang on Harry," Ginny murmured.

She dragged herself forwards and used one of her hands to try and break the grindylow's grip. But she couldn't and she could feel the hand tugging on Harry's leg. Not only that but Harry was slipping out of her grasp because he was so wet.

Desperately she tried to break the grip. But the grindylow obviously got tired and wrenched Harry straight out of her grasp and into the water before either of them had the time to scream.

"Go and get Lupin!" she yelled at the shell-shocked girls. "And Dumbledore, McGonagall, anyone!"

She dived into the water after Harry and saw him quickly slipping away into the darkness of the lake, struggling against the hand that held him. Ginny, being a strong swimmed, reach them in no time and grabbed Harry, who had run out of breath. She whipped out her wand.

"Stupefy!" she tried to yell, but she ended up swallowing a lot of water as a jet of hot water burst from her wand and hit the creature.

The hand slipped off and Ginny wasted no time in gathering Harry in her arms and swimming upwards. After what seemed an eternity she broke the surface of the water, coughing, and dragged Harry up to give him fresh air. His eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged.

_The water is not a place for young kids,_ she thought wearily as she started the long trek back to shore.

Halfway back Harry coughed and opened his eyes, looking at her blearily.

"Gin-Gin!" he said, suddenly frightened.

"It's gone Harry," she soothed. "I got rid of it. I'll be having a few words with Parvati over this too, as I'm sure everyone else will. She nearly got you killed!"

Harry tried to move his arms and legs in an obvious attempt to help her swim back to shore, but he only hindered the process and tired himself and Ginny even more.

"Don't worry, I'll do the swimming," Ginny smiled at him. "And when we get back you can tell everyone about the exciting half-an-hour you spent with the giggling girls!"

"Gigging gi'ls no fun," said Harry, making a face.

Ginny laughed outright.

"No, they aren't," she agreed wholeheartedly.

When they finally reached the shore they found that Madam Pomfrey, Ginny's mum, Professors Dumbledore, Lupin and McGonagall, Ron and Hermione, holding Harry's bear, were waiting anxiously for them. They let out cheers when the two of them tiredly climbed out of the water and staggered over to them.

"_That,_" said Ginny, shooting Parvati a dirty look. "Is an experience I never want to repeat, and never will repeat if I have anything to say about it."

"Are you both okay?" asked Mrs Weasley, checking her over as Madam Pomfrey took Harry and looked him over.

"I want you both to stay in the hospital wing today and tonight," Madam Pomfrey announced, giving Ginny a look that dared her to argue. "You're both going to need your strength for tomorrow and it will be better if I can keep an eye on the two of you."

Hermione was wringing her hands anxiously and she took Harry off the nurse, who was shivering in the cold now. Hermione wrapped him in her cloak, which she had gotten the moment Lavender came and told them what had happened. She gave him the bear and held the shivering boy closer to her.

"I'm sorry Harry," she murmured.

"'Mione done nothin' wong," Harry answered.

"We shouldn't have left," said Ron miserably.

"You need b'eak," Harry said in a scolding tone.

Hermione swung around to face Ron.

"What did you say to him?" she asked him angrily, while he looked on guiltily.

"Now is not the time for arguments," Dumbledore interrupted calmly. "It is more important that we get our youngest student ever to be at Hogwarts to the hospital wing."

Hermione immediately took off for the hospital wing and Ron sighed with relief.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet Ron," Ginny scowled as she passed him with her mother and he gulped.

Late afternoon found the two Weasley parents, Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione gathered around Harry's and Ginny's beds, which were side-by-side. Sirius was very white as he stared down at his sleeping godson.

"Are you okay Sirius?" Hermione asked gently, touching his arm.

"Yeah," sighed Sirius. "It's just… I think this is the first time I've realised how truly vulnerable Harry is in this state. And I can't bear the thought of anything happening to him. He was the one that helped me come back you know."

"What?" asked Ron, startled. "How?"

"Well, he wasn't there physically of course," said Sirius, looking out the window. "But it was almost like he was. And it wasn't just memories either. Whenever I was on the verge of giving up on getting out he'd appear, like a ghost, with that bright smile of his, and encourage me. 'Come on Sirius,' he'd say, grinning at me. 'A true marauder never gives up hope.' And I'd keep going."

Silence fell as Harry stirred slightly and put his thumb in his mouth and held his brown bear tightly, looking quite content. Then Ginny sighed and opened her eyes.

"Ginny dear?" said Mrs Weasley, sitting on her daughter's bedside. "How are you?"

Ginny looked at her tiredly for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Fine mum," she said dismissively, sitting up and leaning against her pillows. "How's Harry?"

"Sleeping."

Ginny nodded and gaze at the tiny face of the two year old Harry, starting slightly as she saw his thumb in his mouth.

"That's what I did when I first saw that," Ron chuckled.

Just then Harry stirred again and he took his thumb from his mouth, his green eyes fluttering open. He looked blearily at the wall for a moment and sat up, his eyes resting on each person in the hospital wing. His face lit up in happiness. Obviously he was quite happy to find people he loved standing by his bedside.

"Have a good sleep Harry?" asked Hermione kindly.

Harry smiled at her and nodded enthusiastically.

"Good," he declared and scrambled out of bed. "Feel better now. Go?"

Laughter erupted from everyone's mouths as little Harry stared at them in confusion.

"Don't you ever change Harry," chuckled Ron.

**Coming Up - **It seems Harry's temporary guardians, the girls, weren't that diligent in their task. Ron and Hermione still would like a break, so Dumbledore decides that now would be a perfect time to right past wrongs! Catch the next chapter _Severus Snape, Babysitter Extraordinaire! (or not)_.

**A/N - **There, another chapter over and done with. To all who reviewed the last chapter, I'm terribly sorry that I'm not answering them this time, but I didn't have much time. Catch your reviews in the author's note in the next chapter though! Thanks for sticking with me all this way for those who are still reading it!


	7. Severus Snape Babysitter extraordinair

**A/N-** For disclaimer see past chapters. I've managed to update quicker then last time, and I'm hoping to get a few more chapters in for the holidays before I have to go back to school and take tests! Thank you to all those who are still reading, and I hope you like this chapter!

Also, for those who are wondering, I made a mistake in the last chapter that needs to be fixed. I said that Harry would have to stay the whole day in the hospital wing, but it should only be until lunch time, otherwise this chapter wouldn't work out the way I wanted it to.

Chapter Seven

Severus Snape, baby-sitter extraordinaire! (not)

Professor Severus Snape, nasty bat-like Potions Master of Hogwarts, the teacher the struck fear into the hearts of every student not a Slytherin, was not known for bouts of extreme patience. He had patience, yes. How could he not have patience after being forced to endure years and years of teaching bratty children who had no respect for potions and before that the Marauders? So yes, he had patience. But it was limited. And right now Harry Potter was pushing him past those limits.

The moment the boy had made that potion in his class without any instruction, a potion that he should not have known about, even in his older form, a potion that was first made just a year after the boy had been born, he had marched up to Dumbledore's office and demanded an answer. The answer did come, but it was in no way shape or form satisfying. It seemed that for years now he had been brewing a potion that had actually been created by the one-year-old Harry Potter when he was playing around with his father's cauldron and ingredients.

Snape paused in his marking and sneered down at the parchment at his desk, not really seeing it. Dumbledore, as infinitely wise as he always appeared to be, had to be wrong. There was no way that potion could have been created by such a young boy when potions masters, such as himself, all over the world had struggled to create a mild healing draught and usually ended up creating acids. And this was the very same boy they were talking about that would grow up to be completely abysmal at potions!

He stood abruptly, pushing his chair back roughly, as someone knocked on the door.

"Enter," he said coldly.

And Albus Dumbledore in his deep purple robes and with those maddeningly twinkling eyes swept into the room, a smile on his face. Snape forced himself to remain calm. This was the very same man who had _very_ discreetly laughed at him when Potter had made his dinner fly up into his face, and then laughed very loudly at him in the common room later when they were discussing the events.

"You don't normally knock," Snape pointed out by way of a greeting.

"And good afternoon to you too Severus," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "How are you?"

"Never better," replied Snape, deciding to omit the fact that he had just been cursing the headmaster and his golden boy.

"Good, good," said Dumbledore, his smile widening as though he knew exactly what Snape had omitted. "I just came down to thank you myself for the potions you sent up to help little Harry and to inform you that Harry is now awake."

_And this affects me… how?_ Snape thought, but wisely didn't voice his thoughts.

"That is very good Headmaster," he said while a little voice in the back of his head chanted _Liar, liar, liar._

"I have to admit that I have come down with an ulterior motive," Dumbledore confessed after a moment's silence and Snape suppressed a groan with difficulty. Dumbledore's ulterior motives usually ended up with him doing something that he would usually die before coming anywhere near the job. "I have a favour to ask you, and indeed, it is on the behalf of many other people too."

"What is it?" asked Snape.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, surveying him over his half-moon glasses.

"We were wondering, since there was no one else available for the rest of the day today, if you would take Harry for a few hours," he said.

Snape blinked.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "No, absolutely not Headmaster! I refuse to partake in any type of babysitting!"

"That is fine Severus," Dumbledore said with a nod. "We shall find someone else for the job then. We just thought it would be better for you to look after him because you are an adult and therefore more suited to the job and you could also keep an eye on him and look at the behaviours he is displaying from the effects from the botched potion. But it does not matter."

He turned to go and Snape gritted his teeth in his annoyance. Only the Headmaster could make someone feel guilty when pleasantly listing some facts.

Which was how Snape found himself making his way up the hospital wing at midday to go and collect Harry Potter to look after him for the day, abandoning the unmarked essays.

If it hadn't been for the fact that Snape had been the one to put the young fool in this position, the potions professor would have simply ignored the headmaster anyway. But he had caused Potter's… condition, and so it was his damn job to make sure the brat returned to his full arrogant self.

Snape scowled as he reached the hospital wing doors and pushed them open with a bang, striding into the room. A _thump_ immediately afterwards indicated that the little boy sitting on his bed had fallen to the floor and out of sight at the rather dramatic entrance. Snape couldn't suppress a smirk.

"Oh, Harry, are you alright?" fussed Granger and Snape looked away pointedly. As if the boy needed mollycoddling.

"Yes," said Potter, scrambling up onto the bed with some difficulty, as he was quite a bit shorter then he had been a few weeks before.

Weasley's eyes fell on Snape and he started.

"_You're…_" he started, horrified, but caught himself before he said something derogatory and got a detention. _The boy finally has a tiny bit of sense in that thick head of his,_ Snape thought, distinctly amused.

"Professor Snape," said Granger, looking at him in some surprise. "I suppose you have come to take Harry then?"

"Yes," snapped Snape. "Hurry up Potter! I don't have all day!"

Potter looked uncertainly up his guardians.

"Go on Harry," said Granger reassuringly. "We'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"'Kay," mumbled Potter as he slipped off the bed and ran over to the formidable man.

Snape didn't look to see if the boy was following him, but swept out of the room and down the corridor. Only the quiet pattering of little feet behind him indicated that the boy had to run to keep up with him. He glanced back once as they were descending the stairs to the Entrance Hall and scowled heavily as he saw him clutching that blasted bear. As though sensing his nasty thoughts towards the bear Potter's grip tightened on it, and Snape briefly thought about all the blackmail he would have against the boy when he was returned to his original state.

_Dumbledore must be mad,_ Snape thought with a dark scowl as he descended the stairs to the dungeons and swept, bat-like, though the sparsely lit corridors with the intentions of getting to his office with little mishaps. _Or going senile at the very least. Giving Potter to me until dinner, the one student I detest more the any other, and the one that manages to get himself in the most hopeless situations! I can't believe that the headmaster expects me to bring him to my office of all places too…_

Snape's thoughts were interrupted as he came to the door of said office and unlocked the door. The boy followed him silently.

"Sit on that chair," snarled Snape, pointing to a chair in front of his desk, on which rested a cauldron with something bubbling within it. "And touch nothing."

The boy didn't dare disobey, Snape noticed with a smirk, as Potter made a beeline for the chair and sat himself in it immediately. Snape walked over to his caldron and started to stir it, adding ingredients.

For about twenty minutes he lost himself in making his potion, but then he looked up and noticed that Potter was watching his every move. Unnerved slightly by this, though not showing it, Snape returned his attention to the potion. He looked up every now and then to find Potter's eyes never left his face.

The next ten minutes passed a lot slower then the first twenty had done, and Snape found that he did not welcome this intense examination by a _toddler_ of all people. _Who does he think he is?_ Snape wondered grumpily. _A mini-headmaster?_

He looked up again and saw Potter meet his eyes. He looked down again at the roots he was chopping. _Stop looking at me!_ He looked up and scowled viscously at Potter, but he seemed entirely unimpressed by this, and only studied Snape all the more.

Finally Snape couldn't take it anymore.

"I am going to get something from the store-cupboard," he said to the boy stiffly. "I will be back in a few minutes. _Touch nothing!_"

And he walked quickly out of the room with plans of staying out for a good half hour with the intentions of regaining his composure, quite forgetting that he was leaving an extremely curious and bored young boy sitting in front of his all important potion.

Harry waited for the scary man to come back, even moving Teddy around for a bit in an attempt to amuse himself. He was quite bored, and he wondered when his current carer was going to return. It wasn't that he really wanted to man to come back, since he reminded Harry entirely too much of Uncle Vernon for his liking, but Harry was _bored._

After a few more minutes of doing absolutely nothing, Harry decided to take a peek in the giant dish on the man's desk. He just wanted to look inside and see what had taken up all of the man's attention for so long.

He clambered precariously up onto the desk and peered inside the cauldron. In a way eerily reminiscent of his sixteen-year-old self Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust. What appeared to be a grey oozing liquid was settled in the cauldron, and it had a very faint smell of burnt toast.

But the worst thing about it was that it _had no colour!_

Now, that just wasn't right. No colour meant it was dull and bland (Harry didn't actually know what those words meant, he had just heard Hermione refer to the colour grey with them and thought they sounded big and impressive).

Looking around Harry knew he had to fix this problem immediately. No wonder the man was so mean if he was forced to brew potions with no colour all day! Maybe if Harry added colour to the potion the man would be nicer.

Assured of this Harry jumped down off the table and ran to the shelves full of pretty-coloured liquids. Harry wondered briefly what colour the man would like, then decided that the poisonous orange was bright enough.

Happy with his choice Harry grabbed this vial off the lowest shelf and ran back to the desk, climbing back onto it. After making sure Teddy was comfortable Harry unstoppered the vial and poured the potion in. Then he threw the vial in the bin and had just sat comfortably in his seat when the man stalked into the room.

Harry looked at the potion and frowned lightly. The potion was still a dull grey, but was now shooting sparks. The man was frowning at it too, obviously confused.

Suddenly, with a loud _boom_ that rocked Hogwarts to her very foundations, the potion exploded. Harry and the man immediately dove to the ground as the potion splattered everywhere.

When it was finally safe enough to get up Harry looked around. Grey potion was _everywhere._ The man looked horrified.

"Three months!" he said. "_Three!_ And all wasted because I left it longer then I should have done!"

Harry decided that he was not brave enough to tell him about his 'cheer up the mean and scary man' mission.

Snape could only stare in horror. He had known he shouldn't have left the potion in his office with Potter. Odd things always happened around the boy and now a potion he had been diligently brewing for three months was completely ruined.

With a sigh he pulled out his wand and made a sweeping gesture, saying the incantation for the cleaning charm. When his was office was clean he turned to find Potter looking at him.

"Stop staring!" he snapped and the boy jumped. Normally this would have amused Snape, but he was a bit preoccupied with a few things. Namely the completely ruined potion.

Grumbling he got out all his ingredients and gathered them together in preparation to start again, knowing that Pomfrey was going to kill him.

All the more incentive to stay away from the hospital wing for awhile unless on the brink of death, and only then if he wanted to be finished off in a particularly painful way.

Making a mental note of this he looked up to find Potter staring again. He sighed in exasperation. Did the boy never tire of staring?

"Go explore," he said dismissively, forgetting to tell the boy to touch nothing.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Potter run to the potions' shelves, but upon seeing the boy merely looking he felt the faint stirrings of relief.

That was short-lived however. A sharp cry made Snape lift his head in time to see almost every potion on the shelves Potter had just bumped in to slip and fall.

It was too late to save the potions and Snape watched in horror as they smashed to the ground, and then promptly dove under his desk as the second explosion that day rocked Hogwarts, quite forgetting about Harry.

After about two minutes Snape heard a sniffle and his eyes widened as he finally remembered his young charge. _I knew Dumbledore was senile,_ he thought with a scowl as he stood.

And stared.

Potter was no longer as close to human appearance as Dumbledore probably would have liked. Two long white rabbit ears had sprouted from the top of the boy's head, making a stark contrast to his jet black hair. He was holding the ends of them with two furry white paws and he had acquired a small pink nose with added whiskers. His feet were no longer human feet covered with shoes, but long bare rabbit's feet and he kept jumping slightly every few moments as though restless.

Albus was going to _kill_ him.

Snape took a deep breath and let it out. Dumbledore couldn't exactly do anything to him. After all, Snape had never claimed that he was a brilliant baby-sitter.

But, though a good argument against a possibly furious headmaster, it was not helping Snape in the slightest, who was beginning to think that he should have just dumped the boy with the nearest house-elf.

Not having anything better that he could think of, Snape took his thinnest potions book off of the shelves and shoved into Potter's hands, who started. Hopefully this would keep him occupied.

"Look at that," he said, all but throwing the bear back at the boy, "With your bear. Do not disturb me."

He went back to his potion. Five minutes later, looking up, he noticed the boy was completely engrossed in the book. He inwardly sighed in relief. He was going to have some peace for awhile.

How long that would last, however, he didn't know.

Harry quietly closed his book and looked up to see the man concentrating on his potion. He had looked through the book for the _longest_ time, but one can only go so far without reading the words. After all, what use was the pictures if you didn't know what they were of?

He looked down at his rabbit paws. The man had said he didn't know any antidotes, so Harry had to wait until the effects of the combined potion wore off. This didn't really have much of any effect on Harry, as he didn't understand what half the words were, but he got the general gist of it, which was that he couldn't be cured yet. And the man had said it was Harry's fault he was half-rabbit! Harry struggled to think of a name to call the man, and one floated up from his locked-away memories.

Git.

He smiled. That had felt oddly satisfying, and he repeated the word over and over in his mind, already delighting in the thought of telling Won and 'Mione all about his new word.

Harry looked over at the man again, who was frowning. It was too bad that the potion hadn't changed to a pretty colour and cheered him up a bit. Then an idea struck the young, determined-to-help-the-nasty-man boy. Perhaps if the man wore brighter clothes? That would surely make him happier.

Satisfied with his reasoning Harry closed his eyes and tried to find the funny tingling sensation he got before he made something happen. He wasn't sure what it was called yet, and it almost seemed like the dreaded 'm' word. Putting that thought out of his mind, because the thought of the 'm' word scared him, Harry concentrated on making the man's clothes change colour. There was a faint whooshing sound that only Harry could hear. When he opened his eyes the man's clothes were bright yellow.

Not satisfied, because the man still looked unhappy, Harry turned his hair bright pink, his shoes neon blue, and made bright green splotches appear on his skin.

There. That should make him happier.

When he noticed.

Snape suddenly got a funny feeling that something was amiss. He had been brewing his potion for hours, and it was about time to take the boy up to dinner. Surprisingly he had been very good all day, apart from the mishap with the potions, which still hadn't worn off. He was actually still looking at that potions book. Maybe Potter wasn't so bad after all.

Leaving the potion simmering he went into his adjourning bathroom to get cleaned up for dinner. He looked briefly into the mirror, and then did a double-take. His eyes widened as he uttered a cry of disbelief and horror.

He rushed into his office and Potter looked up at him, and smiled broadly.

"Happy yet?" he asked innocently.

"POTTER!"

Dinner was something of a peaceful affair without Harry there, though it wouldn't remain so for long. Ron and Hermione were looking rested, but were in agreement that they didn't want to be parted from their young charge again. They wanted him to be where they could keep an eye on him. Ginny was smirking as she watched them worrying about where Harry was, hiding that she was rather worried too after the fiasco that morning.

Suddenly the doors crashed open and the whole hall fell silent as a very colourful and enraged Snape strode through the hall, holding a half-human half-rabbit Harry Potter at arms length. Harry was smiling. This in itself was surprising as everyone in the Hall agreed that if Snape had been looking at _them_ with such a murderous expression they would be running for the hills by now.

Snape reached the Head Table and dumped the boy in front of a startled Dumbledore.

"Never again Headmaster," he snarled. "I will never play babysitter again!"

And he stalked out of the Great Hall with all the dignity he could muster in bright yellow robes and fluoro pink hair.

"And we were worried about _Harry?"_ Ron muttered to Hermione.

**A/N-** Well, I have come to the conclusion of another chapter, and I would like to thank me sister, who had to put up with reading it, though she said she liked it. Also, sorry to those whose reviews I didn't respond to last chapter, but here they are now!

**Reviews!**

**Heather- **You have hit upon one of the focus points of this story. Congratulations! Yes, more and more will be unlocked as he learns more, but looking back at this chapter, I think knowing that he is performing _magic _might be a bit of a detriment. hint, hint

**athenakitty- **Snape is going to do everything in his power to get to the bottom of the mystery of Harry's sudden brewing prowess. Yes, he did keep it, because it was useful, but the potion doesn't play a big part in the story. It was just a starting point to something bigger. The Dursleys will be getting their just desserts, don't worry about that, especially when new _evidences_ come to light. :) The girls also have not yet made their last appearance. And about Peeves. Well, I think I've already given away a bit too much of the story line…

**Big E 3 I LOVE NASCAR- **There will most definitely be more of everyone's favourite ex-convict and werewolf very soon. Next chapter possibly! It's all about fitting them in…

**Amberhawk- **No! You can't hold him hostage! I need him! He needs to tell me what he wants to do! Well… I suppose you'll probably not torture him with evil story lines like I will, so keep him for awhile, and I'll update super fast. Just make sure to let me visit!

**Wind-Up Merchant- **Sirius will most definitely be back! Keep an eye out for him soon!

**runnerz- **Cho will not actually be put in a chapter too soon, but I will need her eventually to help the plot along. She'll be putting in an appearance the moment there is a place for her. And if not in this story, then most definitely in the sequel that I am already planning!

**bewitchedquill- **Thank you! I really do appreciate all the help I can get, and I love getting views on people's experiences. After all, writing is all about learning as you go, right? I know two-year-old Harry seems slightly older then he should be. This is because he is still a sixteen-year-old and his mind knows that he isn't actually two-years-old. The result is meeting somewhere in the middle, with acting sometimes as a young toddler, and sometimes as a wise teenager. His mind can't decide what to stay on permanently, and I'm not going to let it, because that would have _severe_ repercussions for Harry when he gets older if he sticks with the two-year-old mind frame. I'm not that cruel!

**insanechildfanfic- **I have always believed that Dumbledore never actually possessed a sane mind to begin with, so this isn't that bad. Just think occlumency lessons, and you'll see that this isn't that different. :)

**USA-Jeanette- **I will admit that the plans for this story were originally lots and lots of angst, but I quickly realised that humour, with some action/adventure in later chapters, suited this story better, so I was able to change it before I posted. I'm glad I did, I like this version much better!

**Thanks to;**

momocolady, insanechildfanfic, hittocerebattosai, imgonnadie, good morning starshine the earth says hello-debbs, moonravencrow13, Satan Junior No Super Hentai, Anna Evans, laer ear, Hebi R., Marikili68, JVTazz

Every review counts. Even if you tell me you hate my story, at least I know that! Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. I can't really tell you how much that means to me!

**Next Chapter- **Sirius and Black seem to have territorial problems and poor Remus is stuck trying to console them both, while Harry is secretly egging them both on behind the werewolf's back. Look out for _It's a Dog's World._


	8. A Dog's World

**Disclaimer- **I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's wonderful creations. I just borrow them and torture them for awhile and return them in relatively good health.

**A/N-** Okay, before you all start going after me, I would just like to say in my defense that I had a really nasty case of Writer's Black that would not leave me! I ended up starting and re-starting this chapter nearly four times, that's how bad it was. And, I actually only finished it tonight, so I hope it's okay. I don't think I'd get it any better, but it looks alright as it is. I'll try to update again quickly.Criticisms are accepted, and I absolutely adore getter reviews! So, enjoy!

Chapter Eight

It's a Dog's World

For nearly a week the talking point of the students was Professor Snape's colour co-ordination… or lack there-of. To his embarrassment and annoyance the colour Harry had inflicted on him would not leave him, no matter how many times he sent his robes to be washed or scrubbed his skin so viciously that angry red mingled sickeningly with the bright green splotches. Unbeknownst to him, his annoyance was only fueling the young boy's desire to make the teacher happy.

When it seemed Snape was going to crack and make something explode any day now, Dumbledore called Harry and his guardians to his office.

"Harry," he said, looking sternly down at him, the effect ruined slightly by the small twitching of his lips. "I must ask that you remove the spells you put on Professor Snape before he has a nervous break-down."

"Nah-uh," Harry said, shaking his head. "I can'. Colour make Mr. Git happy. Colour make him no' Mr. Git. No colour and he unhappy."

Hermione groaned and put her face in her hands and Ron closed his eyes for a moment as Dumbledore's twinkle went into overdrive.

"I'm sorry professor," Hermione said. "But Harry's taken to calling Professor Snape Mr. Git and nothing we do will get him to stop!"

"But he a git!" Harry said earnestly, with all the innocence of a two-year-old child. "So he Mr. Git!"

"Now, I do not believe we can argue with that logic," chuckled Dumbledore. "However, please do not say that to Professor Snape's face Harry."

"'Kay," Harry said bright, happy to have the headmaster's support, even if it did come with restrictions.

"Now, do you know how you sometimes get angry Harry?" asked Dumbledore, and Harry shook his head. "Oh, well, Professor Snape is rather angry at the moment, because he doesn't like the colours."

"He no like colour?" Harry asked, startled. "Why?"

"He prefers black," said Dumbledore. "And I'm sure he would be happier in black."

"He won'," said Harry stubbornly. "He not happy b'fore."

"Professor Snape isn't a happy person," Dumbledore agreed. "But that is just the way he is. It is admirable that you want to try and help him Harry, but I don't think he really appreciates the help.

"Oh," said Harry.

Suddenly Dumbledore realised something that he had a sneaking suspicion Harry had to do with.

"Harry, do you know how Professor Snape was making a potion when you went down there?" he asked.

Harry suddenly looked incredibly guilty, confirming Dumbledore's suspicious. He laughed.

"I won't tell him Harry," said Dumbledore. "But I think you can make it up to him by taking the charms off of him."

Harry nodded and took off out the door, looking very red in the face.

"What did Harry do Professor?" asked Hermione, almost fearing the answer.

"He tried to make a potion Professor Snape has been working on for three months more colourful, making it blow up," he said with a straight face.

"Oh Harry!" moaned Hermione and she too dashed out the door with Ron on her heels.

Dumbledore sat back and chuckled. Having a two-year-old Harry Potter around was certainly interesting.

There was a surprise waiting for Harry in the common room when he got back from returning Snape to his usual black glory.

"Pafoot!" he yelled joyfully, running forward.

The large black dog barked and wagged his tail before bounding over. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but the large black dog knocked Harry to the floor and licked him.

"Yucky Pafoot!" Harry exclaimed, giggling.

"Padfoot!" Hermione scolded, narrowing her eyes at the dog and drawing herself up to her full height. "You should know better then that! You could have hurt Harry! You are much bigger then him right now!"

"Pafoot no hurt me 'Mione," Harry protested, standing up.

"He could have," Hermione said stubbornly.

For a moment the two-year-old boy and the sixteen-year-old girl stood facing each other, staring at each other, neither willing to back down from their argument, like they had done so many times when they were the same age. As though suddenly realising what she was doing Hermione started slightly and looked away.

"Just don't do it again Padfoot," she said.

The dog whined, but nodded its large head with all the enthusiasm it could muster. Harry giggled again.

"Pafoot!" Harry suddenly said in the one usually says things after being hit with a sudden thought. "You meet Black!"

Padfoot blinked at the little boy. Harry gave an exasperated sigh in the way he had heard Hermione do so at Ron many times.

"Is it just me, or is Harry picked up on your ways more then any others?" Ron murmured to Hermione.

"I think it's good that he has chosen me as his role model," said Hermione, lifting her head a bit. "Maybe when he turns back he will be more willing to listen when I tell him to do his homework on time and not at the last minute."

Ron shook his head and turned back to watch Harry trying to get the large black dog to move, who seemed to have no intention of doing so.

"Pafoot!" Harry finally snapped at him. "Move!"

_And if that wasn't a Hermione-like trait, I don't know what is,_ Ron thought wryly.

However, seeing the look on Hermione's face killed the taunt trembling on Ron's lips. She was proud that Harry looked up to her, and it suddenly occurred to Ron that Hermione had no siblings that look up to her, or even down at her. With Harry she had gone into full 'big-sister' mode, just as Ron had been put in 'big-brother' mode. And, for the first time, Ron found that he didn't want to tease Hermione for her new status as 'role model'.

"Come on Padfoot, come and meet Harry's puppy," he said instead, ignoring the shocked look Hermione gave him. It wasn't usually like him to miss such an opportunity after all.

He grinned at her and she smiled back.

"It's a very special puppy, isn't it Harry?" said Hermione as they walked up to the dormitory, a curious dog beside them.

"I maded it Pafoot!" said Harry proudly.

"You _made _it Harry," Hermione corrected absently.

Now that one Ron could not miss.

"He's two Hermione," he said. "You can't expect him to be learning all the proper grammatical skills right now."

She just glared at him, but her attention was pulled away when Padfoot let out an inquisitive bark.

"He transfigured it from a mushroom," she told Padfoot, and his eyes widened in realisation. Obviously Harry's reputation had preceded him.

The happy yipping greeted them the moment they entered the dorm.

"Black!" Harry said, running over and hugging the small black puppy.

Surprisingly however Padfoot followed him. Ron and Hermione exchanged astonished looks when they saw that he was eyeing the other dog warily, as though it were a potential threat.

It was then that Black noticed the other, rather larger, dog, coming up behind Harry. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment, and then Black shattered the silence by growling warningly. His message was all too clear. _Keep away from _my_ human._

Padfoot gave the dog equivalent of an amused snort and barked back, looking satisfied. It turned to shock, however, when the small dog, not being intimidated in the least, barked back at him.

This was the started of a full-out barking match, which brought most of the Gryffindors upstairs to see what was going on. In the end Hermione had to put up a silencing charm and ask a first year to run and get Professor Lupin for them.

"I wonder what they're saying to each other," Ron said to her quietly as the dogs continued barking.

Hermione shrugged helplessly, at a loss to what to do.

Harry, on the other hand, was sitting silently, watching the 'argument' with wide eyes. But, if one looked closer, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that had people running the other way for James Potter got it. It meant that he had an interesting idea, which wasn't altogether completely 'legal' in the terms of the adults that surrounded him.

Lupin burst through the door, startling the human occupants from their musings.

"What's going on?" he asked. "One of the first years came and told me that there was some sort of problem up here."

"As you can probably see, there is a problem," said Hermione dryly, turning to him. "They've been barking at each other for awhile now."

Lupin glanced at the two dogs and then did a classic double take, staring at Padfoot. A moment later a wide grin spread over his face.

"I'm not going to let him live this one down," he murmured.

"Padfoot!" he said loudly, striding over and getting both Padfoot's and Black's attention. "What on earth are you doing?"

Padfoot may have answered in his own dog speech, or he may have just ignored the man. However, they would never find out. For at that moment Black leapt at the larger dog and took a vicious swipe at him.

Padfoot looked shocked for a moment, holding a paw to his now throbbing nose. And then he barked ferociously, angry that the miniscule dog before him had caught him so unawares.

Black looked intimidated now and he raced through the door Lupin had left open, Padfoot on his heels. Laughing, before they could stop him, Harry ran after them.

"Damn it!" Lupin said, his eyes narrowing. "Why can't he ever be rational?"

They three ran down the stairs and saw the portrait hole starting to be opened.

"Don't open that door!" Ron bellowed, startling the people sitting around in the common room.

It was too late however. Whoever was on the other side of the hole had opened the portrait and had had to step back as first two dogs and then Harry dashed past them.

"Idiot!" Ron muttered as he, Lupin and Hermione gave chase.

"You two go and find help," Lupin directed at the two teenagers with a sigh.

"Do we really need help?" asked Hermione sceptically. "They are just two dogs after all, and one of them is really human!"

Lupin looked at Hermione with all the seriousness he could muster.

"But it so happens that Padfoot knows how to cause more havoc as a dog then he does a human, and from what I have gathered Black is not too calm a pet either," he pointed out.

Hermione grimaced, remembering that Black had gotten into her dormitory and she had gone up that afternoon to find all of her cosmetics and hair things strewn around the dorm.

"Point taken," she said. "Come on Ron."

Ron and Hermione ran off in one direction while Lupin headed the opposite way, following Harry's scent, which was the easiest to follow because he was still human. Suddenly he came across Harry sitting in the middle of a corridor, to doors shut tightly between him.

"Harry?" asked Lupin, stopping short.

"Hi Moony!" Harry said brightly, waving to him.

"Uh… where are Black and Padfoot Harry?" Lupin asked cautiously.

Harry's smile widened and he got a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Pafoot in tha' one," he said, pointing to the door on his right. Then he pointed to the door on his left. "And Black in tha' one."

Lupin blinked. There was no way Sirius Black could have been outsmarted by a two-year-old, no way at all…

But sure enough he could hear sounds of whining and barking coming from behind both doors. A grin slowly spread across his face. Padfoot was _never_ going to live this one on.

"Let's check on Black first shall we," said Lupin casually, walking over and taking Harry's hand.

"'Kay!" said Harry.

If Lupin had looked closer he would have been able to see that the gleam in the young boy's eyes had not yet left and if he had seen it, it would have made him wonder what Harry was up to now.

However, he did not see it, so the two of them entered the room quickly, where Black was looking truly lonely and pitiful.

Harry ran over and gave Black a tight hug.

"Bad Black," he scolded, though he was smiling.

And then, for some totally unknown reason, he hugged Black tightly again and, though Lupin didn't see it, he said something quietly to the dog, and left the room. Lupin looked after him, bewildered.

_Oh well,_ he thought. _He's two years old. He can't cause too much trouble._

Meanwhile Harry was in the room across the corridor from Lupin hugging his godfather, half-scolding him, and half telling him, in his own way, how amusing the whole show was.

Which, of course, made Padfoot want to playfully after Black again so he could see Harry laugh again.

And Harry, realising this, grinned. He got up, left the room, and "accidentally" left the door open before going across the corridor and "accidentally" opening the door slightly so Padfoot could get into the room.

His work done, Harry walked around the corridor. Moments later Hermione found him just as Padfoot and Black started barking at each other again.

The two dogs went racing around the corner, followed by a haggard looking Lupin and stopped in front of the group of people that Ron and Hermione had gathered for help. Harry was laughing and this time Lupin realised something was up.

"Harry," he said slowly, causing Harry to look at him. "Did you have something to do with this?"

Harry just grinned again and Lupin groaned.

"Truly your father's son," he muttered, rubbing his head.

"Padfoot, Black, stop!" he continued sharply in a much louder voice and the two dogs fell silent. "I believe we have all been set up by a small marauder."

The only sound that was heard for a while was the sound of Harry's laughter.

"You certainly know how to cause trouble Harry," Ron commented that evening in the common room.

"Yeah!" Harry agreed cheerfully.

"That isn't a good think Harry," said Hermione, but the corners of her mouth were twitching as she fought to keep from laughter."

Harry giggled at her.

"You laugh," he said simply.

"I did not," she said indignantly.

However, at Harry's disbelieving look, she could help but look down in shame at the absolute lie she had just told.

"Okay, maybe I laughed a bit," she said.

Ron snorted, causing Hermione to glare at him.

"Don't say a word Ronald," she warned and Harry, delighted with the word, began chanting "Wonald! Wonald!"

"Thanks Hermione," Ron scowled.

"Don't mention it," grinned Hermione. "But for now, Harry, I think it is time you got to bed."

The chants stopped immediately. Harry looked at her for a moment and then his eyes narrowed.

And then he said the word Hermione had been dreading to hear ever since he had gotten more wilful.

"No."

**Coming Soon-** 'The Terrible Twos'. Poor Ron and Hermione have no idea how to handle a magicallyskilled child who refuses to listen to anything they tell him. Nothing works. And it seems that Harry isn't going to stop torturing them anytime soon...

**Reviews-**

**athenakitty- **I'm sure Dumbledore's pulled tricks like this many of times before :). And with the potion... well, I was thinking of writing a side-story about how he found out and what he actually does with the potion when he does. What do you think? If you, or anyone else of that matter, find another part in my story I could do a one-shot on to explain better, let me know. And I think Snape was a bit occupied with looking after his most-hated student in toddler form then trying to interest him in potions. Besides, he might have done, if not for the exploding potion!

**bookaholic-of-au- **I know what you mean. It's so cute though! I have a brother, and I got the idea from when he was so young. He's actually sixteen at the moment. I didn't want him doing this in the middle of his OWLs. I haven't really wanted to bring that out just yet. I'm not focusing too much on that side just right now, but you might remember when he was thinking about magic, in chapter seven? That was just a brief reminder. But I just want to focus on the Terrible Twos right now. After next chapter, I'm planning on the memories coming back. So it will be like he has three sets of lives. His previous life at the Dursleys, his life when he was older, and his present life. I'm saving that until he's not so difficult to deal with hint hint

JVTazz, hittocerebattosai, Aly, spacecatdet, Marguerida, Timmy the dog, imgonnadie, wolfawaken, emeraud.silver, deitarion/SSokolow, The Midnight Poster, Lizard, utahtoken, Becky Yuy


	9. The Terrible Twos Part One

**Disclaimer-** I am no more the owner of the Harry Potter universe, then I am of the entire universe.

**A/N-** I am so proud of myself! Another chapter, finished relatively quickly! It may be slightly shorter then usual, but that's alright. I'll just make sure to make longer chapters in future! Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

The Terrible Twos – Part One

"No."

"Harry, please, just put the jumper on."

"No."

"Harry, it's awfully cold out there."

"No."

"Come on mate, just put the ruddy jumper on!"

"No!"

"Put it on Harry."

"No!"

"You'll freeze to death."

"NO! No, no, no!"

Ron wearily rubbed his temples with a groan as Hermione continued trying to coax Harry to put a jumper on. It was the middle of October and Harry had been difficult for about a week now, since the day Harry found it was fun to encourage two dogs to fight.

"Ow!" Ron said, as something hard suddenly hit in the side of the head. He looked down to see a plastic ball and looked back up at the scowling Harry who was looking none to happy at either of them.

"I no wanna wear jumper!" Harry screamed. "No!"

"If you don't put it on yourself I will stun you and put it on you," Hermione growled, finally losing her temper. "Do it now!"

Looking sulky Harry crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. Almost snarling now Hermione pulled her wand out of her robe pocket and was about to point it at Harry when Ron grabbed her wrist.

"As much as I would like to stun him," Ron said, glaring at Harry, "I've heard enough stories from mum to know that is not the way to go."

"Fine," huffed Hermione, tucking her wand away reluctantly.

"You don't have to put a jumper on Harry," Ron said calmly to the little boy, ignoring the hysterical shriek of "_WHAT?_" from Hermione. "We'll go down to the dungeons right now, and if you get cold and ask for your jumper, you can have it. Let's go."

Triumphant Harry allowed Ron to pick him up so they wouldn't be late. Ron counted his blessing that Harry hadn't suddenly gained a streak of independence and wanted to walk on his own.

"Ron, how could you?" hissed Hermione. "You should have backed me up."

"I was," said Ron out of the corner of his mouth. "Harry will be forced to back down at some point when he gets cold. Let nature take its course Hermione. We won't let him freeze anyway."

"Want to bet?" Hermione grumbled so quietly Ron wasn't sure that he heard it.

"That is it!"

Everyone in the common involuntarily took a step back away from one furious Hermione Jane Granger, who was glaring fiercely at the little Harry Potter, who looked like he wanted to flee then and there.

They had just gotten back from a double lesson of Potions. This in itself had made Hermione's temper shorter then it usually was, as it made everyone's when they were forced to spend so long a forced proximity with the smirking Slytherins and the most hated teacher in the school.

But added to this had been Harry's behaviour within the class.

Now, normally Hermione would probably be able to tolerate that sort of thing. After all, it was Snape, snarky git extraordinaire, they were talking about. But she had been short-tempered with Harry to start with, and he had not helped matters in the slightest.

Flashback

_Hermione was watching Harry out of the corner of her eye as she carefully stirred her potion. After his behaviour this past week she wanted to make sure that he wouldn't get into anymore mischief._

_Harry went and sat by Neville Longbottom, whose potion was turning out to smell like a combination of bad eggs and lemon. He looked curiously into the potion._

"_What you making?" he asked, making Neville jump slightly since he had hadn't heard the young boy sit beside him._

"_Oh, hello Harry," said Neville, wiping away some sweat on his brow. "I'm trying to make a potion."_

"_Oh," said Harry._

_He sat silently for a moment. Then…_

"_Why's it smell funny?" he asked._

_Hermione only just managed to prevent her eyes from widening in horror. They could go through the 'Why?' stage yet! They were barely handling the 'Terrible Twos' stage!_

"_Because I made it wrong Harry," answered Neville miserably. "And I know I'm going to fail potions."_

_Snape was swooping down the rows now, marking the potions._

"_An abysmal attempt Weasley," he sneered at Ron's. He came to hers, scowled at her and moved on. Hermione, used to this occurrence by now, filled a vial with potion and started packing up her things._

"_Longbottom, I could expect no better from you," he said to Neville, who hung his hand. "I am obviously wasting my time with you. This mess is totally useless. _Evanesco!_" _

_What happened next was likely to go down in history for no one had ever, _ever_ purposely picked a fight with Professor Snape without being provoked._

_Then again it could be said that he was provoked by seeing Neville's down-trodden face. All anyone really knew for sure was that Harry stood up on his chair and yelled at Snape:_

"_Big mean bully!"_

_Everything seemed to stop for a moment. Many would have sworn that the world stopped spinning on its axle for that moment it was so still. Snape slowly turned on the spot and looked at Harry so murderously that he seemed to shrink back slightly._

"_What did you say?" he snarled out._

"_You're a- a big mean bully!" Harry said, regaining confidence in the face of the direct confrontation. _

"_Harry," moaned Neville, tugging on his pants leg. "Stop it."_

"_Sit down and shut up Potter," Snape snapped. "Complain about my teaching methods when you are old enough to understand them."_

"_No!" Harry yelled._

_There was a thump beside Hermione as Ron's head hit the desk. She was too stunned to really do anything except wonder when they should plan Harry's funeral._

He has a death wish,_ she thought in horror. _He really does.

"_Sit _down_ Potter, NOW!" yelled Snape._

"_No!" Harry yelled back, just as loudly. "You mean git!"_

"_I don't care if you are two or not Potter," said Snape loudly. "If you do not obey I shall put you in detention!"_

"_No!" Harry repeated._

"_Harry…" Neville said again, seeing his two guardians weren't in the right mind-frame to really do anything._

"_Quiet Longbottom!" snapped Snape._

"_Leave him alone!" Harry shouted._

"_Doing a little protector's stint are you Potter?" asked Snape maliciously. "Pity that's what gets people killed in the first place."_

_Hermione could see Harry wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he knew it was meant to hurt. And it did hurt. Badly._

_Which turned into a mounting fury that the sixteen-year-old Harry could only ever hope to meet._

_Palm facing outwards Harry thrust his hand out in front of him viciously. Snape was knocked over, the wind knocked out of him. Perhaps if they weren't so worried about the potential murder of one Harry Potter sometime soon the Gryffindors would have found the sight of Snape suddenly in a pink dress, high heels and curly black hair hilariously funny._

_Before anyone could say anything the bell rang. The Gryffindors all leapt up, grabbed their bags, dropped their vials off and left, Ron grabbing Harry on the way out._

End flashback

Hermione scowled at the toddler before her.

"I am _never_… hear me?... _never_ going to take you anywhere again while you are behaving like this," she yelled at Harry. "I honestly do not know what has gotten into you lately!"

"Sowwy," Harry mumbled.

"You know what the worst part is?" Hermione asked heatedly. "You stand there and say sorry… but you don't mean it! You'll only do the same thing tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that! You will just keep being naughty!"

Harry looked down at his toes. The truth was that he didn't mean to be naughty. He certainly didn't want to be. But it was like inside his mind there were two, maybe even three sometimes, sides warring against each other suddenly, causing him to be irksome and upset because he didn't understand. And he didn't know how to tell Won and 'Mione either.

"… unbelievably stupid," Hermione continued. "If Snape had hexed you he would have been well within his rights to do so! What makes you think in that thick head of yours that you have the power to go insulting teachers? Snape already hated you enough and you've just gone and made it worse!"

"I didn't mean to 'Mione," Harry said earnestly in an attempt to explain his weird feelings lately.

"Yes you did Harry!" yelled Hermione. "You did mean it! You knew _exactly _what you were doing! And yet you still did it! I should- should- should send you away until you've learnt how to behave properly! And since I don't think you will ever learn I should just send you away for good!"

Harry felt himself shaking slightly. 'Mione wanted to send him away? Back to his aunt and uncle? But they promised!

But maybe she hated him now. Maybe she didn't want him around anymore, that's why she wanted to send him away. Maybe Won didn't either, which was why he didn't say anything. And Gin-Gin, and Pafoot and Moony and Granda and Grandma and Artur and mama Molly…. Maybe they all hated him!

"You were completely irresponsible," Hermione said. "And if you ever do that again you will be punished severely. For now you will stay in the common room every day. We will bring food up to you. You will not be allowed to attend meals or classes. Black will be taken care of by someone else. I am really disappointed in you Harry."

Harry felt his eyes fill with tears, one of which slipped down his cheek. Unable to deal with the foreign emotion, which didn't even have a name to him, he grabbed hold of anger and distress as he had been doing for the past week.

"You mean too 'Mione!" he shouted, saying the first words that came to mind, and knowing that if he said the words first it wouldn't hurt so much when she said them to him. "I hate you!"

He turned and ran out the portrait hole, which had just been opened by a student and forgotten while they watched Hermione rant.

Hermione slowly span on her heel, looking at the group surrounding her.

"Which stupid person left the portrait hole open?" she seethed through gritted teeth.

Everyone pointed at one another.

Harry ran, stumbling along, down the now empty corridors as everyone was at lunch or in the house common rooms getting ready for class. He ran up stairs in unexplored territories and he still kept going, wanting to put as much distance between him and Hermione. She wouldn't lock him up, he wouldn't let her, or anyone else for that matter.

He hated being locked up.

**Look out for- **_The Terrible Twos, Part Two._ It seems Ron and Hermione have gotten themselves in quite a predicament with their unfortunately difficult charge. How are they go to find him now? And how are they going to protect themselves from getting, literally blown away by Harry's magic when they do?

It seems that I have delved into the slightly more angsty stuff this chapter, but it won't stay that way for long! This story, and always will be, first and foremost a humour fic.

**Reviews! **

**athenakitty- **Yeah, that's about right:) The antidote... well, don't get your hopes up too high for that. When I've finished writing the _Terrible Twos_ chapter, something about that is going to come to light. And Snape has not been making the potion badly because of what happened... Dumbledore would have his head if he did so! Dumbledore will probably be on babysitting duty a little later. I hope you liked my oneshot _Ignorance is Bliss_!

**Heather- **Unfortunately, Sirius could not make an appearance in this chapter. He was too busy sulking that Harry had outwitted him, and Remus was too busy laughing at him. But the incident will probably be mentioned quite a few times actually. Because Remus will _never_ let it lie. So you will get to see plenty of Sirius' reaction to what happened!

**Thanks to-**

**utahtoken, imgonnadie, hittocerebattosai, SpellMasters, emeraud.silver, Lurk**

Thank you so much for all the reviews that I've gotten so far. They really help me to continue writing when, if I hadn't had the encouragement, I probably would have let this story die quite awhile ago. Every review helps.


	10. The Terrible Twos, Part Two

**Disclaimer-** I own as much of Harry Potter as I do of Coca-Cola company

**A/N- **Chapter ten finally up! Gosh, that's been a long run. Between writer's block and the internet being down I haven't had any time to post in the last month and a half, and I've only just finished this chapter. I'm on a role now. Keep an eye out for a new chapter of _Seeing is Believing _and, look out for a new story that's coming soon called _I'm Still Here._ It wasn't really supposed to be written, but my mind just won't let one-shots be an outlet anymore. Speaking of one-shots, don't forget to let me know if there is a particular one-shot you want me to write from this story or from my others! Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

The Terrible Twos – Part Two

"How is it possible that somehow, impossibly, we cannot find him on the Marauder's Map?" Hermione asked in frustration as four heads bent over the ageing piece of parchment, studying it intently.

Lupin, Sirius and Ron looked tiredly up at her as she began pacing.

"We know as much as you do Hermione," Sirius pointed out.

"There can only be two answers," Hermione said to herself, ignoring Harry's godfather. "Either that map isn't complete, or Harry has managed to wipe himself off the map."

"Wipe himself off the map?" asked Lupin, his brow furrowed in a frown. "That's impossible to do!"

"We all know Harry is powerful," Hermione pointed out logically. "If he somehow wished hard enough that we couldn't find him that he would simply… 'disappear'."

"So, how do we even know he's still on the grounds?" asked Lupin.

"We don't," said Hermione.

There was total silence for a moment as everyone pondered this. Would Harry really leave the school grounds? He may have done, but somehow they didn't think so. Harry was intelligent, he wouldn't be so stupid… right?

"I feel like such an idiot," Hermione sighed, slumping in a chair.

"It wasn't your fault Hermione," Ron tried.

"Yes it was," Hermione snapped. "I was the one who yelled at him, and said all those things to him."

"Yes, well, I didn't really do anything to stop you either," Ron said with a small grin. "Too busy trying to get out of your line of fire."

Hermione couldn't muster up even the smallest smile at that comment, she just stared at the wall opposite her. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been thinking when she had yelled at Harry. All she knew was that she had completely lost it, she was so frustrated with him, and her mind had played tricks on her, convincing her she was scolding a sixteen-year-old instead of a toddler. She had forgotten that he was not as old as he once was, and was now paying dearly for it.

Ron, however, thought that her misery was a result of what Harry had yelled at her before he had run off. While she was upset at that too, she felt that she fully deserved it. And in a way she understood, for she remembered a similar thing happening when she was younger. Her parents had been displeased with her for something she hadn't done and tried to make her stay in her room. Not able to understand why she was getting in trouble she had yelled at her parents that she hated them before they could admit that they hated her.

The difference between the situations however, was that her parents were able to sit down with her and discuss _why_ she had said what she did. But she didn't have to chance to do that with Harry, because he was nowhere to be found.

Admittedly, though, Hermione hadn't been thinking clearly. Her frustration had built up all week to the point that they were at boiling point. She had, of course, been mostly in the line of fire because she was the one that usually asked him to do things, corrected him, or, every now and then, gave him ultimatums.

It had been Ron that had been there with the experience though. Ron who had stopped her from strangling the boy, Ron who had offered advice, Ron who had taken Harry away from her when she was getting too annoyed. She was sincerely grateful that he always listened to his mum's stories about their childhood, particularly Fred and George's.

Hermione cast her mind back over the 'conversation', for lack of a better word, she and Harry had had as the three males spoke quietly among themselves, not wanting to disturb her lest she snap at them. He had apologised to her sincerely, earnestly, as though wanting her to know something. And he had said that he hadn't meant to behave like her did really…

Her brow furrowed. She was quite sure that children did not go from being very good, to being extremely difficult over night. Though it was a stage that few passed, it, like everything else, would take time to develop and then disappear again. Harry had become difficult immediately. So, would that not suggest that perhaps something had triggered it, and when he said he didn't mean to act this way there was a hidden meaning behind it?

"We need to check all of Harry's hide-outs, the places he goes when he wants to be alone," she said finally, looking at her companions. "If he isn't there we tell Professor Dumbledore that we need help."

"Do you know where Harry's hide-outs are?" asked Lupin.

"Last I checked a hide-out was suppose to be a place a person could hide in so no one can find them," Sirius pointed out. "Unless things have changed since I was at Hogwarts."

"Shut up Padfoot," said Lupin, snickering. "Or I'll set Black on you."

Sirius glared at his friend, who just smiled smugly back.

"For the last time, Harry tricked me," he said between gritted teeth.

"It was a sad day when the mastermind behind some of the Marauder's greatest pranks was beaten by a two year old," Lupin informed him.

"Come on you two, let's get started," Hermione interrupted. "We need to find Harry as quickly as possible. He is going to need us, and I need to apologise to him."

The two men fell silent, though Sirius didn't not stop glaring at Lupin, who was looking triumphant. It had been a long time since he had something so good to blackmail Sirius with.

"Which ways should we head Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Well," said Hermione unsurely. "I was going to have Sirius and Remus start looking through the higher floors, while we did the lower ones, but…"

"Nonsense Hermione," said Remus briskly, the grin on his face positively screaming mischief. "We'll be fine, won't we Padfoot ol' boy?"

"Old!" said Sirius in outrage. "Who're you calling old?"

"Right, if you say so Remus," Hermione said dubiously.

"I say so," said Remus. "Come on Padfoot, let's go. Maybe we might find somewhere no dog has ever gone before."

"What happened to the man bit?" questioned Sirius as they walked out of the room.

"Obviously the Founders would have been everywhere in the castle at least," said Remus in exasperation.

"Oh."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Where do you want to start Ron?" she asked.

"How about the dungeon and work out way up?" suggested Ron.

"Good idea," said Hermione with a sigh, not particularly looking forward to spending all that time in the dungeon… but then, she though, she did deserve it.

Harry walked around and around the large unused classroom, feeling quite bored. In a way he wished that someone, _anyone_, would walk through that door, even Mr Git, to keep him company.

It had seemed like _forever_ since he had hidden up here and he was doubting that he had made the right decision. What was the point of hiding away from everyone and making them run around after you if you got so bored waiting for them to stop panicking that you wanted to reveal yourself?

Suddenly he heard footsteps and he looked out of the keyhole on the locked door. The doorknob rattled and he frowned to himself as he saw 'Mione and Won walking away, softly calling his name.

Suddenly he grinned. He wasn't so bored anymore.

"I hope Lupin and Snuffles has had an easier time then us," Hermione sighed, glancing at Ron. Then she did a classic double-take and her mouth dropped open.

"Hopefully," Ron agreed, not looking at her.

"Ron!" she suddenly shrieked. "Your hair… it's bright purple!"

Hurriedly she summoned a mirror and looked into it with Ron and screamed at her own reflection. Her eyes were narrowed like a cat's and her face was covered with scales. Her hair was no longer hair as such, but snakes. She was reminded wildly of Medusa.

"Whoa," Ron said, staring at her. "Looks like whoever did this has more of a grudge against you then they do me. My hair only changed colours!"

But Hermione wasn't listening. For their was another reflected in that mirror and she swung around to face the tiny figure of her young best friend, who had his arms crossed and was frowning at them the expression, though he would die of embarrassment if she ever said as such to him when he was older, making him somehow look even cuter.

"Harry?" she asked, biting her lip and wondering how on earth she was supposed to rectify her mistake.

**Look out for- **_The Terrible Twos, Part Three_ in which the air is finally cleared and exciting revelations come to light. Could it be that, finally, everything is going to go right again? Could it really be that easy?

**Reviews! **

I was so overwhelmed with all the reviews, and I love it when people asks questions! So I decided to answer each review individually rather then only answering the questions, even if they are only one word answers!

**deitarion/SSokolow-** Thanks, I particularly like it too, though I have a bit of a soft spot for the chapter where Snape babysits Harry. That one was fun to write.

**emeraud.silver-** Snape will always be Snape and he serves his purpose well just the way he is at the moment. Maybe he'll get nicer, or maybe the plot will say that because he's such a mean git he can serve as Harry's target. Who knows? I haven't gotten there yet.

**Becky Yuy-** Well, you have to think, Hermione wouldn't really have all that much experience with younger children, so she's gone for a mixture of the stern scolding she would have briefly heard her aunt use and the sort of scolding she used for Harry when he was sixteen. Don't worry, what doesn't break you always makes you stronger. She'll learn.

**athenakitty-** Grins evilly Harry isn't done with everyone, not by a long shot. And about the antidote and where he'll wind up… well, that would be telling.

**SpellMasters-** Thanks!

**dubdigit-** grins I love little Harry stories, so I thought I'd write one of my own. Glad you like it!

**Lurk-** Again, Hermione will learn, though not without a bit of suffering first. And Ron was carefully trying to keep out of the conflict. He's seen two many arguments between his mother and older brothers to get in the middle of that particular argument. The third is the _other_ Little!Harry, the one he was with the Dursleys. Which will play a vital part soon too. winks

**Heather-** Glad someone likes them. I'm not sure how parents survive them, truthfully… And don't thank me. It's a pleasure to write anyway. Thanks for your review!

**imgonnadie- **What happens now is going to shape him to be when he is older again. And they aren't voices. Not yet anyway.

**insanechildfanfic-** She'll get there… eventually.

**hittocerebattosai-** No, most definitely not. And, if I have anything to say about it, it shall continue not being too fun… for them anyway.

**mellybellyrbc-** I'll try! Thanks!

**Haunt of twilight-** I know, I know. I felt that way too. But she needs to be that way for the plot to progress. She'll work it out sooner or later.

**PaddyWaddy-** Yes, Harry is very confused. And he isn't likely to become un-confused anytime soon either. Glad you liked that, so did I! And not so much at the moment, but he will be.

**BladeMaxwell-GoddessofDeath-** Thank you!

**Shenal-** Though I would have preferred them to be in canon, I can see what you mean, and I was resigned early on that I would not get them perfect. No one can, really. Thanks.

**jka1-** That's really the whole point of the story. I'm glad you like it! I love that too!

**Cassandra M. Clearwater-** Brilliant! I was hoping for that, really. It's a bit harder to do when he's younger, but its good to know that I achieved that. Thank


	11. The Terrible Twos, Part Three

**Disclaimer- **The only thing I own in this story is the puppy, Black. Everything else is legally J.K. Rowling's.

**A/N- **I am so sorry for the lack of updating. But, in my defence, I've had assessments coming out of my ears (at this time of year!) as well as the fact that we recently moved and I didn't have the internet for awhile. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the small chapters that were before this, a result of lack of a muse. But, after half this chapter sat here for ages, my muse came back! So, enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

The Terrible Twos – Part Three

Hermione just stared at Harry, very conscious of the fact that her hair was hissing at her menacingly. Somehow she wouldn't have been very surprised to find that Harry had made the snakes insult her in a language she couldn't understand.

Harry met her eyes defiantly, his large green orbs betraying only a hint of hurt and betrayal, anger prominent in them. And suddenly Hermione was reminded of another time, a year or so ago, when she and Harry had had an argument.

Flashback

_Harry had been sitting calmly in the chair before the fire by himself. Ron had long since gone to bed with complaints of a severe headache, and he was left to wait up for Hermione, who had managed to get herself detention with Snape for 'speaking out of turn' once too many times in class. He was flicking through his _Standard Book of Spells_ book, stopping every now and then to look at a spell that seemed to interest him._

_He was so engrossed in his book that he jumped as Hermione stomped into the common room and threw herself onto the couch next to his chair, her face as black as a storm cloud. Cautiously Harry put down his book and sat up straighter._

"_Hermione?" he asked carefully._

_Hermione started and looked at him with wide eyes. Harry could relate. It had, after all, only been yesterday that Harry had tentatively run the idea of Crookshanks eating Scabbers as it was his nature and he knew that she thought that he was siding with Ron. But, truthfully, Harry didn't want to side with either of them until he found the whole truth._

"_Harry?" she asked, surprised. "What are you doing up?"_

"_Waiting for you of course," Harry said matter-of-factly. _

"_Why?" she asked uncomprehendingly._

"_Well, you always wait up for me when I had detention," Harry explaining, wondering why Hermione was narrowing her eyes suddenly. "I thought I'd return the favour."_

"_Oh, so you felt sorry for me then?" Hermione asked stiffly._

_Harry's eyes widened._

"_No," he hurriedly tried to reassure her. "But you're my best friend and…"_

"_I thought Ron was your best friend," Hermione said snidely._

"_Yes, he is, but so are you!" Harry said, beginning to feel angry._

"_I don't need you to run around after me!" Hermione snarled. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."_

"_And of being completely unreasonable as well obviously!" Harry retorted. "I stayed up for you because you are my friend! Not because I don't think you can't look after yourself! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"_

"_Good!" Hermione shot back. "I don't need you, or Ron! You go and side with him, like you always do…"_

"_Is that what this is about?" he asked incredulously. "You think I've sided with Ron? I haven't! I was just running a simple suggestion by you, but you took it the wrong way."_

"_You… didn't side with Ron?" asked Hermione tentatively. _

"_I can't pass judgement until I know the truth, Hermione," Harry said angrily, standing up. _

_He looked like he was about to say something more, but instead he walked away with a noise of exasperation. He walked up the stairs as quietly as possible, mindful of the Gryffindors trying to sleep, and disappeared from view._

_Hermione just sat where she was, her mouth gaping open._

End Flashback

No one except her and Harry knew that that argument had been the real reason for the rift between the two when Scabbers had supposedly been eaten by Crookshanks. Ron just thought that Harry had sided with him, but in actuality Harry didn't talk to her because she had been so unreasonable.

But that time had been completely different. She had felt hurt, betrayed by the two she had thought were her friends, and she had lashed out at Harry when he tried to show her that he hadn't abandoned her and he was still willing to be her friend along with Ron. She had lashed out because she hadn't wanted to hear him say that he didn't want to be her friend any longer.

So when Harry had gotten the Firebolt for Christmas she had tried to show him how much _she_ cared for him too by making sure that he wouldn't get hurt. But instead he had let his distress at how she had acted overrule his judgement and let it turn into anger, covered by pretending he was angry that she had got the broom taken away.

Hermione shook her head and came out of her thoughts, fiddling with the end of her blouse and keeping her eyes on the white material. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so nervous, she just knew that Harry's steady gaze was making her fidget in a way that her mum's used to when she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

Ron nudged her in the side and gave her a significant look. Hermione opened her mouth, but she found, for once, that she was at a total loss for words. What could she say? _Sorry, Harry, I wasn't sure what I was saying?_ It would be a complete lie, not to mention a simple apology somehow did not seem enough.

Not sure what to do, really, Hermione sat on the ground with a small sigh.

"I don't know what to say, Harry," she admitted aloud. "Sorry just isn't good enough. You tried to tell me something and I ignored you."

Something flared briefly in his eyes for a moment, but it was gone so soon that she was sure she had imagined it.

"Even though it isn't good enough, though," Hermione continued, "I would still like to say that I'm sorry for yelling at you and saying all those things to you, and for treating you like you were older then you actually are right now. And if there is anything… _anything_ at all that I could do to make it up to you, I would do it."

It would have been at this point that Hermione would have worried about making such an offer. She would have been scared that she would be asked to do something embarrassing or something like that.

Right now she was beyond caring though. She felt she would deserve anything he sent her way.

Harry watched her curiously for a moment, no doubt wondering at her sincerity. Ron stayed in the background, watching was happening, but this time ready to step in if anything got out of hand.

After a moment Harry seemed to nod to himself and he walked over to Hermione and sat himself down in her lap. He looked up at her surprise with childish innocence and a wide smile.

"Will you listen now, 'Mione?" he asked shyly.

Hermione stared down at him, blinking. Whatever she had been expecting, it had not been this, and she wondered vaguely if he perhaps had another trick up his sleeve.

"Or course, Harry," she found herself saying.

Harry beamed and then looked down, threading his fingers together. Hermione vaguely wondered where he had picked up that particular habit as he hadn't done that before the change.

"I don't mean to, 'Mione," he finally said, looking up. "There's me, and me, and me."

'_Me, and me, and me'? _Hermione thought, bewildered. _What does he mean by that?_

"What do you mean by that, Harry?" she asked.

Harry's brow furrowed in frustration.

"Not angry," he tried to explain again. "More feelings. But I don' unnerstan', 'Mione."

_Don't understand… what doesn't he understand._

"Not me," he tried again. "Not Harry here. There's me, and then another me…"

Hermione's eyes suddenly widened in comprehension and her expression cleared to one of understand. Now she knew exactly what was going on.

"I understand, Harry," she breathed.

She had wondered if this would happen, and had half-hoped it wouldn't for Harry's sake. But she had known it would, he had shown signs of it happening for awhile now.

Harry may have been severely de-aged from a botched potion, but that didn't mean everything from his previous young life and his teenaged life was erased. Things were different now. And he was beginning to get flashes of things that had already happened to him at the same age with the Dursleys. He was probably beginning to wonder what was going on.

_That_ was what was distressing him. That was why he went from good to bad so quickly and suddenly. He was frustrated with not known what was happening to him and he was taking it out on those around him.

Just as she had taken out her frustrations at his behaviour at him because she hadn't understood what was so wrong.

Now the difficult part; how was she to explain this to Harry?

_Dumbledore._

It would be the easy way out, admittedly, but she wasn't sure how to explain it to him and she knew Dumbledore would not confuse him and would be able to fill in all of the blanks, some of which she still had.

"I think we are all due for a long chat with Dumbledore, don't you think Harry?" she asked. "We need to go and talk to him and ask for his advice."

"To see Granda?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes," nodded Hermione.

"And Grandma, and Pafoot, and Moony, and Artur?" he asked.

"They need to hear too," agreed Hermione.

"And mama Molly, too?" he asked somewhat shyly.

Hermione nodded and smiled.

"They should all be in the Great Hall about now," she said, looking at her watch. "Let us go join him for dinner, shall we? We can ask them there."

Harry nodded. Ron moved forwards with a smile, noticing with relief that his hair had gone red again, but Hermione had not changed. Either Harry had forgotten about it, or he was purposely doing it.

For the first time in a while Harry put his arms around Hermione's neck so she could pick him up and they rose off the ground. Quickly they headed to the Great Hall, Hermione intent on speaking to Dumbledore as soon as possible.

When they reached the double doors, however, Hermione paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. Harry watched her curiously, wondering what she was going to do. She smiled at him and pushed the doors open.

The students stopped and stared as Hermione Granger walked into the room with Harry's charms still on. But she took no notice of them as she walked proudly across the room with a small smile on her face, her head held high. In her arms Harry beamed up at her and his eyes sparkled.

Half-way through the Hall Harry waved his hand and she went back to normal. She smiled at him and he beamed back. For the first time in a long time all could once again see the tentative bond that had formed between the two before something had come between them. The bond of a brother and a sister.

They reached Dumbledore, who was positively beaming at the two of them. Ron was behind them with a wide smile on his face, thankful that everything had turned out perhaps even better then it had been before.

"What can I do with the three of you?" the headmaster asked.

"I think, sir, that we need an explanation," Hermione said quietly. "It is quite long overdue and I think Harry, in particular, is dying to know just what is going on."

"Very well then," Dumbledore said with a nod. "And after this meeting you should go down to the potions classroom. Professor Snape believes he has found a cure."

Hermione smiled brightly and Ron laughed. They would, of course, be sorry to see their small friend go, but they also could not wait to be able to hold conversations with the older Harry.

Later that night Ron, Hermione and Harry found themselves walking together down to the dungeons where Professors Dumbledore and Snape were awaiting them. The headmaster had already gone and told them to wait fifteen minutes before following in case there was a problem.

Everyone else was waiting in their rooms, sitting and keeping their fingers crossed that everything was okay.

Little Harry, on the other hand, was rather cheerful. He had been told a great many things, most of which he had only gotten the gist of it, but at least he now knew a little of what was happening to him.

When they got to the classroom they found not only the two professors waiting for them, but Madam Pomfrey as well, who had taken a special liking to the small toddler. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was slightly dimmed, Madam Pomfrey looked anxious, and Snape looked like he couldn't wait to get this over and done with. The potions professor had made no secret of the fact that he hated the two-year-old Harry Potter much more then he had ever hated the sixteen-year-old.

The potion he was holding was an odd murky sort of blue with black swirling through it. It barely looked drinkable and Harry took one look at it and made a face at it.

"Come on, Harry, let's get you back to normal," Hermione said, leading him over to the table they were standing on.

Ron took the vial from the potions professor and held it out to the toddler. For a moment it seemed Harry would refuse it, but then he glanced up at Hermione and reached out to take the vial.

Everyone watched him in anticipation. Harry quickly swallowed the potion in the vial and gave it back to Ron. He stood there and stared back at them.

Nothing happened.

With a sigh everyone relaxed, Snape looking incredibly frustrated as he scrutinised the small drops of potion that was left in the vial.

Suddenly Harry was encased in a bright circle of white light and everyone shielded their eyes. It flared bright for a second and then faded away, revealing Harry, who was now sitting on the floor.

At first glance it would seem that nothing had happened. But slowly they noticed that, while he was no less child-like, he seemed bigger then before.

Madam Pomfrey immediately hurried forward and waved her wand over him, muttering something. Harry looked up and tried to grab the wand, giggling as a blue light washed over him. Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened and she quickly put her wand in her pocket before Harry could get it, turning to his guardians.

"Congratulations, you are now in the care of a four year old toddler."

**A/N- **I'm glad this chapter is finally finished, and I'm actually working on the rest of this story now. Harry and Hermione have been stuck in shown-down for awhile; I'm glad I could finally move them. Next chapter there _should_ be an explanation as to what is happening with Harry's change.

Any of you who are particularly picky about grammar may have noticed that I made a change of the gramma kind. I'm so proud that I finally realised that I have to put a comma in front of someone's name!

**Coming up- **_Chapter Twelve; Teaching Hermione._ Hermione is particularly worried about the thing that led to the whole fiasco in the first place; her lack of patience with a young child. So she asks Ron to teach her.

**Reviews!**

The day after I posted this chapter I clicked on the button to check my emails and I got almost fourteen reviews back in one! I was so shocked! Thank you all so much to those who are still with this story, despite my lack of updates sometimes!

**athenakitty- **What are Planned Parents? Snape is going to be as fast as possible in preparing this antidote; he doesn't like little Harry any better then big Harry! grins there's still plenty of time for him to strike. It hadn't planned to be, but this story is going to be longer then anticipated.

**hittocerebattosai- **laughs You and me both!

**deitarion/SSokolow**- That's alright. It's enough to see that you're still with me!

**Haunt of twilight- **The part with Remus and Sirius has to be one of my favourite parts in the story. And I know it may seem Harry let Hermione off a little too easy in this chapter, but he hasn't forgotten, though he has forgiven. She's learning though.

**fireyhell- **looks innocent Oh, I have some other things in store for them…

**jka1- **I don't think it will be all that long before Hermione learns, really, with what Harry can do. grins

**Zal- **Thanks! That's probably one of the best compliments you could have given me! And Harry too.

**Becky Yuy- **I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my muse sticks around! Hopefully it should be a lot longer this time!

**imgonnadie- **Congrats! You've hit upon one of the focal points of the story. Other things will happen, but that's what I'm focusing on, because everything leads to something else, right?

**Rabid Reader 4- **beams Thank you. It's so nice to know when I am doing something right!

**Lurk- **Ah! You reminded me! I will work on that as soon as possible! It's nice to know someone else shares that opinion, I've always loved reading those types of stories. I'm hoping, now he's four and ready to display more mannerisms, it won't be long before they all find out. And yes, he was losing influence, but he's come back now that he's past that stage. And finally (I feel no guilt admitting this because it wouldn't be much of an ending if it didn't happen) yes, sixteen-year-old Harry will be changed by the events that occurred when he was de-aged. beams Thanks for sending such a long review!

**zibben- **This is generally a funny story! I think I may have strayed a little in the last few chapters, but I'm back on track now!

**Special Circumstance- **I will do so as soon as possible, particularly with Christmas holidays coming up!

**Aldavinur- **I'm pleased that you think that, because that's what I though too. I had no idea she would get such a tongue-lashing when she was harsh! However, everything leads to another, and Hermione is going to learn a few things that will be good for how she converses with Harry in the future. And yes, I do agree that he will begin to see them as such… but not as much as say Molly and Sirius. You need to remember that right now Hermione is more a big sister tho him then anything else right now. With Ron, though, with how responsible he's been acting… well, its something to think about, isn't it?


	12. Teaching Hermione

**A Slight Mishap**

**Summary**: An AU fic set in the trio's sixth year. What happens when Harry is asked to test an ageing solution and everything goes horribly wrong once more?

**Disclaimer; **I don't own Harry Potter. Wish I did sometimes, but hey, not all wishes can come true!

**A/N;** I am so proud of myself! I got another chapter done, and not all that much longer after the last chapter either. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next out quickly. Look out for a one-shot called _Explanations of the Smaller Kind_ that will basically explain what is happening with the triple-Harry situation. It will take place between the point that the trio heads to Dumbledore's office and the time that they make their way down to the dungeons. Anyway, Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve

Teaching Hermione

Hermione paced the common room before the fireplace, the soft glow of the dying flames illuminating her stressed features. Ron, the only other one in the room, sat in an arm chair and watched her. Harry had long since been put to bed, quite tired by the day's events.

Ron tapped the arm his chair, not making a sound on the soft material, and sighed softly, wondering what was wrong with his friend. She has been pacing back and forth for ages now, her mind seemingly working a mile a minute.

Suddenly Hermione stopped and looked at him.

"Why didn't it work?" she asked sharply, mindful of the fact that most of the Gryffindors were trying to sleep.

"I don't know, Hermione," Ron said honestly.

"It should have worked," she murmured, flopping down on the lounge chair.

Ron waited for her to say something else, wondering when it had become he that had become the more patient and reasonable of the two.

"What if it happens again?" Hermione finally said. "What if I lose my temper again, or something else?"

"We can deal with it when it comes to that?" Ron suggested.

"It shouldn't ever have to come to that again," Hermione said fiercely. "It was bad enough this time."

She made as noise of frustration and stood up. She began pacing again and Ron sighed and settled back for another supposedly long wait.

However, not two minutes later she turned to him again.

"How do you do it, Ron?" she demanded.

"What?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"How are you so patient around him?" she asked. "Why don't you ever get frustrated by him?"

"I don't know, I just don't," Ron said uneasily, feeling that they were straying into forbidden territory. Talking about something that he was better at then Hermione was just not a good way to keep his life in tact.

"I need to learn how you do it," she said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"You'll learn with time," Ron said, unconsciously running a hand through his red hair. "You'll get better with him the longer he is young."

"But what if I can't teach myself this?" she asked.

"Well, then I'll just have to keep him out of your way," Ron joked weakly.

"Teach me, Ron," she said, staring at him intently. "Teach me how to be patient with a little child."

"What?" Ron asked incredulously. "I can't just _teach_ you something like this…"

"I need to know, Ron," she said pleadingly "What if… what if I have kids of my own some day, and I get frustrated with them too? What if Harry is just the beginning? I need to get the hang of this now."

Ron opened his mouth to refuse her again until he saw the look in her eyes. She stared into her brown eyes and swallowed. For the first time ever _she_ was asking _him _for help with something… he couldn't turn her down.

"Alright, Hermione," he gave in and she beamed at him. "But I don't know how much I'll be able to help you."

"It's enough that you might be able to help a little, Ron," she said. "Thank you so much!"

She swooped down and kissed him on the cheek before running off to her dormitory, not noticing how Ron put his hand to his cheek and smiled, thinking that agreeing to help Hermione was definitely a good thing.

"I can put my socks on!" Harry declared proudly.

It was the morning after the small change and Harry was dragging on Ron's hand as he jumped down the stairs to get to where Hermione was sitting. He was absolutely beaming. The picture was all the more cute by the sight of Harry's socks being back to front on his shoeless feet. Ron was carrying his small shoes.

"Really?" asked Hermione with a smile as Harry let go of Ron's hand and bounced up onto the lounge beside her. "You did a very good job."

Harry beamed at her and Hermione felt stirrings of relief. Perhaps she wouldn't mess this up.

"I think Dumbledore must have come to the dormitory before we got there," Ron said to Hermione in a low voice. "All the clothes have been resized and look more…"

"Appropriate?" Hermione suggested when Ron paused, searching for a word.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "They look more appropriate for his age now."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Hermione said.

Ron grinned.

"'Mione, do we go to class today?" Harry asked, tugging on her shirt sleeve.

"Yes, Harry," Hermione said. "We're going to potions."

"Yay!" Harry cheered.

For some strange reason the little boy had taken a particular liking to the subject, despite what he seemed to think of Professor Snape… or what he _had_ thought of Snape.

"But for now, we need to go down to breakfast," Ron said.

They were about to leave when there was a soft pattering on the stairs. Ron and Hermione turned to see Black jump down the last few steps, panting happily. Harry laughed.

"Black come to breakfast too!" he said.

"Indeed," Hermione said with a small sigh.

Breakfast began a lot calmer then Hermione had ever expected it to be with both Black and Harry attending. People passed by and looked curiously at the somewhat older young boy and cooed over him, but that was the only disturbance.

Hermione's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Black growling menacingly. She looked up to see Sirius passing by, who was glaring back at the dog. She was just about to thump her head on the table when Harry tugged lightly on Black's fur.

"Bad doggy," he scolded lightly in a whispered tone that only those nearest him heard. "Don't growl at Padfoot!"

Black calmed down, even though his ears were still laying flat on his head. Padfoot licked Harry's hand and then went on his way, trotting to the table where Remus was sitting.

Hermione blinked and, for some strange reason, felt the urge to burst into inconsolable tears. _Harry_ had solved that altercation while she had wanted to be as far away as possible… _I can't do this!_

"Hermione!"

Hermione looked up to see Ron waving a hand in her face with a raised eyebrow.

"Blimey, Hermione, you must have been miles away then," Ron laughed. "We need to get to Herbology."

"Oh, alright," the girl said, standing.

She was about to walk off when Ron cleared his throat. She turned back, surprised, to find that Ron was looking pointedly at Harry, who was just being content with looking around at everything.

Hermione blushed and moved to pick up Harry. Another clearing of the throat and a raised eyebrow made her realise that, now that Harry was four, she had to let him know what she was doing first.

"Um, Harry, we need to go to class," she said, chiding herself for feeling a little foolish. "I'm going to pick you up now."

Ron seemed to be barely suppressing laughter, but Harry beamed up at her and stretched out his small arms so she could pick him up.

"Okay, 'Mione!" he said.

Hermione picked the small and still light boy up and frowned. Wasn't Harry supposed to get heavier as he got older? And taller too?

Deciding to put it aside to think about it later, she followed Ron out of the Hall and out onto the grounds after bidding Ginny farewell. The walk to the greenhouses was quick, and they were one of the first groups there.

Harry's eyes roamed curiously around the greenhouse as they walked inside. He could see a short woman who was teaching the class, and she had dirt all over her clothes. He frowned slightly. Aunt Petunia wouldn't like that.

But what really grabbed his attention were the small pots on the long tables, which had funny shaped plants in it. It looked nothing at all like the flowers that his aunt had in her garden, and he was curious about it.

Eventually, as the class started, Hermione put him down on his feet and, making sure to keep quiet, he took off to go and investigate the more interesting plants that were around the room. He was sure no one would mind as long as he didn't touch anything. Aunt Petunia never minded, as long as he didn't ruin her nice garden.

A large, moving plant moved its bud down, and Harry had the creepy feeling that it was looking at him, though he couldn't see any eyes.

"Hello," he whispered, not wanting to distract the woman talking.

The bud seemed to regard him curiously for a second before nodding- at least, that's what Harry took it for.

"I'm Harry," the young boy said. "Are you alive?"

The plant nodded again, bristling in indignation. Showing remarkable empathy for a child of his age, Harry smiled.

"I'm sorry," he said.

This seemed to calm the plant down a bit, and the bud moved closer to the four-year-old in curiosity.

Harry hesitated. The big plant was like a dog, and Black wasn't there to bark at any potential competition. The dog had unfortunately, been forced to wait outside. But would the teacher-woman find if he pet the plant?

Professor Sprout was giving a lecture on the types of plants in front of her students.

"…When ground after it is picked at the right stage, it can have amazing healing properties," the woman said. "Unfortunately, the Micus Volera needs tender and almost round the clock care if they are to survive…"

Harry tuned the woman out and looked at the plant. Tentatively he reached out a hand and touched the bud. The plant almost seemed to croon under his gentle touch and Harry giggled softly.

It was just like petting Black…

Unfortunately, at that moment, Professor Sprout's eyes flicked over in that direction as she unconsciously checked on her other plants as she taunt, only to find her youngest student petting her most venomous of plants.

"Mr Potter!" she screamed, cutting herself off mid-lecture.

Harry started and swung around as the plant quickly withdrew itself. The teacher-woman was the one who had yelled his name.

"_Stupid boy!"_ another voice screamed in his mind. _"I told you not to touch any of my flowers. Go to your cupboard!"_

As Harry watched the Professor approach, he felt his breathing quicken. He had touched the plant, and now they were going to throw him in the Dark with all of the black Shadows and they would leave him there…

Before anyone else could react as Harry started panicking for some reason, Hermione swooped down on her small charge and scooped him up.

"Hey," she crooned softly, hugging him. "Nothing is wrong, everything's alright. The plant is very dangerous and Professor Sprout was concerned. Come and sit by me for now."

She took Harry over and sat him on a seat between her and Ron, not noticing the looks she was getting for the way her mother-instincts had kicked in. Finally, once Harry was settled and curiously surveying the plants on the table, she looked up to find Ron looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Again. _He seems to be doing a lot of that this morning,_ she thought vaguely.

"What?" she asked uncomprehendingly.

"And, you wanted me to teach you… why?" Ron asked softly.

Hermione blinked at him and looked down at Harry. She hadn't been trying to prove anything, Harry had needed her…

It wasn't until Professor Sprout had continued the lecture that it actually kicked in. She had acted instinctually on her charge's behalf, zooming in on the cause of distress and calming him down.

_I can do this!_ Hermione thought with a bit of wonder.

**Coming Up; **_Chapter Thirteen; Problems with Fire._ They say that curiosity killed the cat, and Harry has a lot of curiosity stored in him. So what happens when he and a couple of salamanders meet?

**A/N; **The next chapter is part of an idea that has been floating around my head for _ages_, so it shouldn't be too long before it' up!

**Reviews!**

**hittocerebattosai- **holds hands up I know its been ages! I've been trying to make up for it though by writing as quickly as possible!

**beckyboo99- **Did you mention trouble? grins slyly now, where would you ever get that idea from?

**Aldavinur- **The fight between Harry and Hermione was a little idea flitting around. It isn't central, but I also like the idea that there was more to it then just a silly broomstick and a rat. grins I realised how long Harry had been two, and decided to make him a little older to make the plot more interesting. He's going to age four years every potion from now on unless I get a better idea.

**Freja Lercke-Falkenborg- **laughs You'll never believe how close you are to the mark you are to what the story started out as! This story was started out as a vague, silly little idea that was supposed to add a bit of ridicule-ness to the stories that I was writing that were full of angst. Then I realised that, 1, I quite liked writing this story and 2, I adored writing humour. I'm glad you like it, and I'll try to update as quickly as possible.

**Lurk- **Okay, now to tackle your review. beams It feels so nice to get your reviews because you ask so many questions, and they're so long! Okay, first things first- Okay, Hermione's promise is an interesting point… but who says he has to be sixteen to remind her? wink wink I've always liked the stories where Snape doesn't change his personality overly much, but he is definitely on the side of the Light. I'm think of perhaps forcing him to baby-sit again later in the story because of an emergency of some sort. Don't worry about going over things you've already said, I do it all the time! You may have noticed that, right now, Harry doesn't quite know that what he is doing is the dreaded 'm' word, and there will be a chapter on it when he does eventually find out. No, it isn't that stage yet, but in this chapter, Hermione began speculating on how small and light he was. And yes, I love the big 'reveal' as well, and I plan a lot of things for it. If you weren't making sense, I didn't notice. I usually ramble anyway, so most things that don't make sense to others make sense to me! It'd have to be _really_ confusing to make my head spin. Either that, or make complete sense. Anyway, I'll go back to writing before you make me keep rambling to the point of insanity or spill all my secrets!

**Thanks also to;**

anonymous, reader, PaddyWaddy, emeraud.silver, cat, mauradersbanana and Saturnblue


	13. Problems with Fire

**A Slight Mishap**

_**Summary**_: An AU fic set in the trio's sixth year. What happens when Harry is asked to test an ageing solution and everything goes horribly wrong once more?

**A/N; **Tadaaaaaaa!!! I'm officially back now! After problems with stress, then my internet decided to bugger up on me and _then_ my whole computer had to be reconfigured because I had numerous vrius' that just wouldn't go away... so, yeah, those are the very valid reasons why I have yet to update. So, enjoy this chapter!

**Dedication; **This is a rare event, as I usually never dedicate my stories unless it is to my really _really_ good friends or to my family. For this chapter though, I dedicate it to a few reviewers. This chapter is for **MinaLynn **and **Mikee**, who prevented me from making a mistake that could have cost me heaps. Thanks again! I'd also like to say thanks to **Lurk**, because, though you haven't been with this story from the start, your creative reviews really help to make my day. Thank you to you too!

Now, onto the story!

Chapter Thirteen

Problems with Fire

A pair of large green eyes flickered open and gazed up at the beige ceiling with a small look of curiosity on his face. Looking closely, he was sure he could make out some shapes, but couldn't quite catch what they were in the dim lighting of early morning.

Deciding that the apparent shapes on the ceiling were not enough to hold his attention for long, Harry sat up and yawned widely. He could hear the four older boys still sleeping, Ron and Neville snoring loudly. He giggled slightly as he saw Ron sprawled on his back, mouth wide open.

He scrambled out of his bed, which, unbeknownst to him, had been magically changed to suit his age, which meant there were no more bars. Softly he dropped to the floor in his bare feet and padded across the floor to Ron.

"Won," he whispered, wondering if the boy was actually awake and just tricking him.

Ron continued snoring.

Harry huffed slightly. He was sure that no one slept like that… he must be pretending to be asleep! Well, Harry would show him.

Carefully Harry climbed up on the bed and poised himself. And, without warning, he let himself drop heavily down onto Ron's stomach.

Ron was jerked out of a truly lovely dream he was having about running in a sun filled paddock with someone of importance (he was entirely sure who, but he knew that the person was familiar) and let out a startled cry as all the breath left his body in a whoosh. There were various noises of confusion as Neville, Dean and Seamus woke up.

Harry blinked down at Ron and realised that perhaps he hadn't been pretending after all. Ron's blues eyes flicked up to him and looked at him blankly for a moment before comprehension dawned. Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Little minx!" Ron growled playfully. "You woke me up from a very nice dream!"

Harry couldn't help but giggle.

"'Bout 'Mione?" he asked innocently.

Ron stared at him, dumb-founded, ignoring that snickers that were coming from their now wide-awake dorm-mates.

"Where on earth did you get that idea, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged and scrambled off the bed, dropping the subject, but opening it up to allow Neville, Dean and Seamus to tease him mercilessly. Ron groaned. _If Harry was older, I'd think he does these things on purpose._

Of course, there was always the possibility that he was doing it on purpose. Harry was a lot smarter then they gave him credit for, one of the side-effects Dumbledore mentioned before he became four.

Harry ran over to his bed and tugged at his clothes, releasing them from where they had managed to get tangled in the sheets that he had kicked off sometime the previous night. When he had managed to free the small set of clothes, Ron swung his feet off the bed and walked over to him, intending to help.

"I can do it," Harry said when Ron picked up the trousers.

"You sure?" Ron asked, looking at him in surprise.

Harry nodded solemnly and then started tugging off his blue pyjama top. Ron shrugged and walked back to his bed, closing the curtains so that he could get dressed too.

Harry dropped the top to the floor and looked at the red shirt Hermione had given him doubtfully. What way was it supposed to do? Both ways looked the same to him. And what was the little white thing on the inside?

Deciding that, in the end, it didn't really matter what way the clothes went, Harry pulled on the shirt and a pair of trousers, leaving the green jumper carelessly on the floor as he struggled with his socks. The shoes, of course, were much too hard to put on himself, so he left them alone.

Ron was still getting dressed, so Harry left the dormitory and bounced down the stairs where Hermione was usually waiting for them. To his surprise and delight, Ginny was the only one down in the big lounge room.

"Gin-Gin!" he squealed and ran over to her.

Ginny laughed and swung the little boy up onto her lap. Harry beamed broadly up at her.

"Hello, Harry, how are you?" she asked.

"Good," Harry proclaimed.

Ginny bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the poor boy. Somehow he had managed to get all of his clothes, even his socks, back to front.

"Harry, who dressed you?" she asked.

"Me," Harry said proudly. "I can dress myself now."

"I see," said Ginny, wondering desperately how to tell him he hadn't dressed himself properly without offending him.

"Won sleeps funny," Harry informed her in a rather loud whisper. "I thought he was pretending, so I woked him up."

"Oh?" said Ginny, unable to help a giggle. "I'm sure he wasn't too pleased by that. Was he actually asleep?"

With a look of guilt on his face, Harry nodded. Ginny cleared her throat, not wanting to laugh at him.

"Well, you know, Harry, I think you did an admirable job dressing yourself," Ginny said, vaguely hoping that if she used big words he wouldn't feel hurt. "But you put your clothes on the wrong way."

Harry tilted his head with a look of confusion.

"I didn't know there was a right way," he said.

Ginny was suddenly struck by how well spoken the boy was, and how he had been even as a two year old. _Must be his older self showing through._

"There is," Ginny said. "Do you want me to help you?"

Ginny and Harry struggled through getting his clothes on the right way, Ginny showing him how to tell if they were the right way round or not. Harry was a little more of a hindrance then a help, but he was determined to get it right.

Finally they were done and Harry looked up at Ginny with a look of admiration on his face just as Ron and Hermione descended down their respective staircases, Hermione looked tired and Ron a little frantic.

"Thank you, Gin-Gin," he beamed.

"That's alright, Harry," Ginny said, patting him on the head and pushing him towards his two carers.

Harry ran over to them and Hermione picked him up.

"Good morning, Harry," she said. "What are you doing down here?"

"Gin-Gin helped me," Harry informed her as though it was the most important thing in the world. "She's really nice."

"She is, isn't she?" Hermione said with a smile, noticing how Ginny went a little pink at this statement.

"I'm going to marry her when I'm older," Harry said with a large smile.

If Ginny was blushing before, it was nothing to what she was doing now as she turned a very familiar deep red. Ron took in a sharp intake of breath and choked. Hermione merely smiled sweetly.

"That seems a good idea," Hermione said with a nod. "Now, let's go down to breakfast."

She and Harry left through the portrait hole, Harry chattering to Hermione about his morning. Ron and Ginny looked at each other.

Suddenly Ron snickered and Ginny blushed even more.

"Well, that's an interesting turn of events," Ron said airily. "I'll have to hold him to that promise… I'm sure mum would love to begin planning the wedding."

Ginny made a sound that was pretty indistinguishable and raced out of the door, leaving Ron to start laughing.

After lunch, Ron, Hermione and Harry made their way down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. For once Harry wasn't being carried, and was running ahead of them and then running back to them, seeming to delight in this small amount of exercise outside.

It occurred to his two carers that Harry hadn't really been outside all that much, which was why he was revelling in the experience now. They looked at each other, both deciding to bring him outside more often.

A small group of Gryffindors and Slytherins were already standing around the hut with Hagrid when they approached. Hagrid beamed at them.

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry beamed at the giant man, causing Hagrid to chuckle. This was the first time he had seen Harry as a four year old.

Hermione's eyes were drawn to a few crates sitting by Hagrid's feet and she felt a bit nervous. Thankfully, Hagrid had postponed the lesson with salamanders because Harry was so small, but Hermione wondered if, now that Harry was two years older, he had finally decided to bring them in.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Hagrid showed her a little warded playpen that she could set Harry in.

"Today we're going to be doin' salamanders," Hagrid informed the class. "I was going to do it earlier, but a few things came up."

He bent down and opened the boxes, allowing a few red lizard-like creatures to crawl out of their confines. Hagrid beamed at them.

Harry watched the lesson curiously fascinated by the red creatures that had come from the wooden boxes. They didn't look like anything he had ever seen before, and he wondered what they were and if they were nice.

Perhaps he could find out? He was sure they wouldn't mind, just like Black, who had taken to refusing coming to this class after a kneazle bit him, didn't mind and that plant didn't mind.

Carefully he climbed out of the playpen, not attracting any attention as Hagrid continued to talk to his class. He crawled over to the creatures silently through the grass. When he was nearer to them, they looked at him blankly.

Bravely Harry crawled forwards to the nearest one and stretched out his hand. As was his luck Hagrid turned to look at the creatures at that exact moment and his mouth dropped open, causing the entire class to look over too.

Harry's hand met the forehead of the creature and immediately flames sprung up and out of it, engulfing it, Harry and the other creatures, causing them to begin burning too.

"Harry!" screamed Hermione.

Ron's knees gave out and he fell to the ground with a thump. Everyone else just gaped dumbly. By all appearances, the boy-who-lived had just gone up in flames.

The fire raged for a moment and then started to recede, leaving the blackened grass in its wake. Hermione suddenly realised that she had left little half-moon circles in her palms from where she had clenched her fists.

She felt like breaking down and sobbing, but she was frozen, her mind refusing to accept what her eyes were telling her. Harry couldn't go just like that…

Finally the flames cleared and this time Hermione's knees gave out and she fell next to Ron, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

For all intents and purposes, Harry hadn't been engulfed at all, despite what she was sure she had seen. In fact, Harry was, at that moment, petting one of the salamanders, who had tilted its head to give him better access, not a wound on him. Not even his head had been singed.

"Ron, could you please tell me what just happened?" Hermione asked, quite calmly she thought.

"I honestly do not know," said Ron, blinking.

Hagrid looked like he was about to faint, he had gone as pale as a ghost as he stared at Harry. Hermione's mind began racing as she thought about what had just happened. Was it possible that Harry had had some abilities that even he hadn't known about?

Harry continued petting the salamander, completely unaware of the commotion that he had just caused, simply be surviving when all the odds said that he should be ashes by now.

Ron came down the stairs from his dormitory after putting Harry to bed to find Hermione scribbling in a thick, leather bound, un-lined diary. He stood over her shoulder for a moment and then cleared his throat, causing her to jump.

"Ron!" she said in surprise. "I didn't hear you come down."

"You seemed pretty caught up in what you were doing," Ron grinned, looking down at the book. "What are you doing?"

"I've decided to keep track of Harry's progress," Hermione said, showing him the six pages that were already filled with neat, tiny writing. "I only got it yesterday through the owl post, so I've just been writing about what he's gone through to this point and then about what happened today. I think Harry might like to see it when he's older again."

Ron was doubtful about that… it looked like way too much reading material to him. Then again, if Hermione got her way, Harry would no doubt like books a lot more by the time he was sixteen again.

"Have you spoken to Dumbledore yet?" he asked.

"No, Hagrid said he did, though," Hermione said. "He told me during dinner. Said that the headmaster just asked that we let him know if anything else happens."

"Well, that's good," said Ron relieved. "As long as Dumbledore's onto it, we're good."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "We're Harry's carers!"

"So?" asked Ron.

"Which means that if we notice that something is wrong, we fix it or bring it to the attention of someone who can," Hermione snapped, closing the book, gathering her things and standing. "We do not foist our problems onto someone else!"

She opened her mouth as though she was going to say something else and then made a frustrated sound.

"You can be so thick!" she ground out.

She stormed up the staircase that led to the girl's dormitories, leaving Ron behind her with a bewildered expression.

"What did I do?" he asked to the empty Common Room.

**Coming Up (sooner then you might think, too!); **_Chapter Fourteen- Black's Run._ Harry decides that it's a good idea to make Black bigger so he doesn't accidentally squash him, only the charm doesn't seem to wear off. So now they're stuck with a large dog that _really_ just wants to go outside...

**Reviews; **Unlike in previous chapters, I am not going to reply to reviews in the chapter anymore. Rather, I will reply to them directly through messages now! This is due to a couple of people that gave me warnings about this practice and, after all the work I've put in to get to this point, I'd really rather not have my story pulled!


	14. Black's Run

**A Slight Mishap **by sapphire-angel-gem

_**Summary**_: An AU fic set in the trio's sixth year. What happens when Harry is asked to test an ageing solution and everything goes horribly wrong once more?

**A/N; **If you could see me now, you'd probably see me smiling sheepishly at you all. This time I have nothing to say in my own defence except that I had other things on my mind and forgot to edit and then update. Hours turned to days, which turned to weeks, which eventually turned into one and half weeks, about. Amazing how time flies sometimes. I'm writing a story with my friend and it looks like we're going to be having two publishing companies looking at the first lot of pages! I'm so excited! That's part of the reason I forgot. The other part… well, I suppose I was just being lazy there… Enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

Black's Run

Ron sat down next to Hermione with a _thump_, letting his books crash onto the table before he slouched down and covered his face with his hands.

"They're trying to kill me," he moaned.

"Honestly, Ron, it's only a few essays," Hermione sighed, not even looking up from the potions essay she was writing.

"Yeah, right," Ron snorted. "Only you could say it's only _a few_ essays."

"Well, if you did your homework when you got it you wouldn't be stuck trying to finish five essays off in the one night," Hermione said primly.

Ron scowled, but there really wasn't much he could say to argue to that.

"Right," he muttered and sat up. It was then he noticed the absence of something rather important. "Hey, Hermione, where's Harry?"

Hermione's hand stilled suddenly and the girl's head jerked up to look at him with wide eyes.

"You mean you don't have him?" she asked incredulously.

"Me?" Ron spluttered. "I thought you were looking after him!"

"No, I gave him to you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You did not!" Ron said. "I said I was going to the library for five minutes and asked if you could watch him for a bit!"

Hermione opened her mouth to retort, and then stopped, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Why are we sitting here arguing?" she asked. "When we could be looking for him?"

They looked each other and immediately jumped to their feet.

"First thing is to look around the Common Room in case he's hiding from us," Hermione said. "Then we'll go look up in your dorm."

It was a mark of how worried he was about where Harry might have gone and what he was doing that Ron didn't instantly rebel against the note of authority in his bushy-haired friend's voice.

Ron got down on his hands and knees and started looking under table while Hermione looked around the inside of the cold fireplace. She suddenly withdrew when there was a shriek and a bellow of pain.

She looked to see a fourth year girl standing away from the table she had been sitting at and Ron sitting under the desk, rubbing his head.

"Sorry, I was looking for Harry, I wasn't looking up your skirt," he tried to explain.

The girl huffed, collected her stuff and stomped off towards her dormitory. Hermione couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Ron looked grumpily at her.

"Shut it," he said sourly, standing up.

"Well, I suppose we can say he doesn't seem to be down here," Hermione said, deciding not to bring up what just happened… until she informed Ginny and Harry of the occurrence, of course. "And if he is, he's a good hider."

"To the dorms then," Ron said, moving towards the stairs that led to the boys' dorms. "And if he isn't there…"

"Then we panic," Hermione finished, following him.

They climbed up the stone steps, straining to here any sound that would indicate that Harry was up in the dorms. But they couldn't hear anything.

Finally they reached the door and Hermione pressed her ear against it, listening for a moment. She thought she could hear giggling, so she pushed the door open.

"Ah, Harry's just playing with Black," she said, glancing at the young boy tackling the large dog.

Ron's eyes were wide.

"Um, Hermione, when did Black get so big?" he asked weakly.

Hermione turned to stare. Indeed, the black dog was not the small puppy that he had been only a few hours before. He was now almost as large as Harry, and would probably be taller than him if the dog stood on his hind legs.

"Harry?" Hermione called, her mind firmly telling her to remain calm until she had assessed the situation.

Harry looked up and instantly a look of guilt wormed its way onto his way. Hermione raised an eyebrow in question.

"Harry, what happened to Black?" she asked.

"I didn't want to squash him," Harry explained, looking a little proud of what he had achieved. "So I maded him bigger!"

"That explains it," Ron muttered.

"How long will he be big, Harry?" Hermione asked, ignoring the red-head.

"I dunno," Harry said, shrugging his small shoulders. "I just maded him big so I could play."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. With Black suddenly as big as he was there was no way the boy and his dog would be able to keep out of trouble.

"Well, since Black is so big now, he'll have to stay in the dormitory until he is small again," Hermione said.

Harry's face fell at this, but he nodded anyway.

"Okay," he said.

"Let's go get our homework and bring it up here," Hermione suggested and the two teenagers hurried downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Dean said when they returned to the Common Room.

"Harry did magic again," Ron said with a groan. "This time he used it to make Black at least three times as big as he was."

Dean and Seamus exchanged a horrified look. There had been quite a few instances when they had been awoken by the small, excitable puppy jumping on them at Harry's askance. The thought that he might do that when he was that big was no pleasant at all.

"Why can't we take Black outside?" Harry asked innocently as he and his two friends climbed up the marble staircase after class the next day.

"Well, he's so big he would knock things over," Hermione explained. "And he would cause all sorts of trouble. When he's small again, we'll take him for a walk outside, alright?"

"Okay!" Harry said happily, appeased for now.

"Ron! Hermione!"

The two teens turned around at the sound of Neville calling their names and saw the other boy racing up to them, looking extremely worried. Harry sat down on the stairs and watched him in interest.

"Neville, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"It's Black," Neville panted. "He's loose in the Common Room."

"How?" Ron asked. "I shut him in the dormitory this morning!"

"Seamus went up there to get a book so he could do some homework, and Black bowled him over," Neville said. "I was lucky to get out the portrait hole without him following me to come and get the two of you and Harry."

"Is he still really big?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," said Neville.

"Well, we better go calm him down," Hermione said with a sigh.

Harry scrambled to his feet and took the hand Hermione was offering to him as the group of four continued climbing the stairs, the four teenagers looking anxious. Harry stumbled a bit trying to keep up with them.

Finally they reached the portrait hole, only to see a third year student saying the password.

"Wait!" Ron said frantically, running forwards. "Don't open the portrait!"

The student looked around, alarmed, but it was too late. The portrait swung open to admit them, and at that moment a barking black blur raced out of it. The student stared at the dog, open-mouthed, before he was knocked off his feet as Black ran towards them.

"Wait, Black!" Harry yelled gleefully, stepping forwards to try and stop the dog.

But Black wasn't stopping, even for Harry. Harry's look of amusement turned to one of shock as the dog ran straight at him. Determined to stop his pet, Harry grabbed hold of his collar, and the next second was yanked off his feet and he was being dragged, shrieking, down the corridor.

Ron, Hermione and Neville stared in shock as the two disappeared around the corner, and it was then Hermione remembered that they were fast approaching a set of stairs.

"Move!" she yelled to the boys, racing down the corridor. A moment later they were on her heels as they chased the rogue dog.

Rounding the corner they could see Harry and Black about to descend the stairs. They saw that Harry had somehow managed to get his arms around the dog's neck and swung himself onto Black's back as though he were riding a horse. Suddenly the two disappeared down the stairs and the four teens raced after them.

"I'm telling you, Moony, no one ever comes down this way," Sirius said stoutly as he walked defiantly beside the werewolf.

"And I'm telling _you_ that you shouldn't take chances," Remus argued. "You never know if a student might be lost and wander down this corridor… imagine what would happen if you were seen in the castle!"

"When we were students, no one even knew this corridor existed," Sirius said.

"Fine," Remus said exasperatedly. "But be it on your head if someone sees you."

Suddenly he stopped and cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowed.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

Sirius frowned and listened intently. Now that his friend mentioned it, he could hear the sound of a young person screaming accompanied by barks and some other people yelling something indecipherable in the distance. And it was getting louder all the time.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on. By now they could both clearly hear the noise, which meant that whoever was making it wasn't very far away.

Sirius was just preparing to turn into a dog when a sight neither were prepared for made him stop and stare.

A suddenly very large black dog rounded the corner, a young black-haired young boy hanging on around his neck for dear life. Dog and boy went racing down the corridor, neither noticing the two men. Next came three teens, chasing the dog and yelling "Stop, Black! Stop!" or "Hang on, Harry!" to the dog and his rider.

When the strange procession had disappeared Sirius and Remus looked blankly at each other.

"Did you just see…?" Sirius asked.

"Yes" said Remus.

"Was that…?"

"Yes."

"And…?"

"Yes."

They exchanged another look and then, with yells, they raced after the teens to help chase down the dog that had apparently kidnapped Harry Potter.

"Bad, Black!" Harry shrieked. "Stop!"

He was desperately trying to keep his hold around the dog's neck so that he didn't fall off, and Black didn't see to notice that he was almost being strangled. Black jumped over something and Harry tightened his hold even more as he threatened to slip straight off.

"Black, stop!" he tried again.

The door just barked in response and sped up, bounding down the next set of stairs. Students and teachers alike leapt out of the way as boy and dog sped past, staring at them as they went.

Harry was quite aware of where his dog was headed. He knew Black needed to go outside, but 'Mione had said they had to wait until he was small again. Now the dog had decided to get there on his own.

He looked around. He could see 'Mione, Won, Neville, Moony and the large black dog he knew to be his godfather chasing them.

Suddenly Harry felt Black shrinking on the marble staircase, and Black gave a yelp of surprise. Harry's own eyes widened in shock.

"No, stay big, Black!" he yelled, hanging on.

But it was no use. With a sudden _pop_ Black was suddenly a small puppy again and Harry was thrown forwards with the momentum from the sudden stop. He hit the stairs on his shoulder and hip and went tumbling down them.

"Quick, get him!" Hermione screamed, running down the stairs.

Harry rolled down the last steps and lay there for a moment, bruised and dazed. A second later the face of his female mentor came into his line of view.

"Harry, are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

"No, 'Mione," Harry said, his lip trembling slightly.

He hurt all over. Gingerly he sat up and winced as his back flared with pain from a large bruise there. Suddenly he was swept off the ground by Ron.

"Come on, Harry," he said. "Madam Pomfrey should be able to help you."

Black was yipping anxiously, bounding around them. Harry smiled at the dog; he couldn't be angry at him. It wasn't Black's fault after all.

Hermione tried not to hover, she really did. But she was feeling frantic. After all, how often does one's charge take a ride on a dog and then roll down a set of stairs?

"Hermione, you need to calm down," Remus said to her. "Harry is fine."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "But why does everything seem to happen to Harry, even as a little child?"

"If I had the answer to that, I'd probably be a millionaire," Remus said with a laugh.

Hermione smiled slightly at that. How trouble found Harry so often was a mystery, and she suspected that it would always remain so.

**Next – **_Chapter fifteen; Why? _To Ron and Hermione's horror Harry begins asking why things are the way they are… incessantly.

**Thank you to;**

_Aldavinur, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, hittocerebattosai, A, asdfjkl, stag-star, Saturnblue, Aria Dragoncrest, Dragonmage182, Mikee, tati _and_, emeraud.silver._ Your reviews keep me going!


	15. Why?

_**Summary**_: Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right. Chapter Fifteen Up... Finally!

**A/N;** What do you know, I actually am still here! Yes, I know, I've been really slack and I haven't updated, but there are actually many reasons coughexcusescough as to why the long period of inactivity was allowed to reign. Firstly, just after I posted the last chapter I became really, _really_ sick and I was sick for all of August, if you can believe it, and I ended up in hospital for awhile - get this - during my HSC trial exams! How unfair is that? Anyway, then there was the holidays, which I spent studying for my HSC, then for the four weeks after that I was taking exams. Now, you're probably asking why I haven't updated between the end of the exams and now, then? Well, my muse went on an unplanned holiday to Hawaii suddenly and only returned three days ago. So hopefully my other stories should be updated soon as well! Not only that, but since being sick my sense of time had just been really wacked, I don't know why. But, anyway, this chapter is my Christmas present to my readers. Merry Christmas to everyone who is reading this and also to those who aren't!

**Chapter Fifteen; Why?**

The little boy with jet-black hair bounded excitedly around the dormitory, dodging his red-haired guardian. Ron made a noise of frustration as he dove for him on Seamus' bed, but only landed on the red cover as Harry bounced off it again, laughing. Though he hid it, the red-head was secretly pleased that Harry had recovered so well after his tumble down the stairs.

"Come here, you little minx," Ron growled, scrambling off the bed and chasing him.

Harry gave a squeal of laughter and dove under Ron's bed. Thinking he had him, Ron ran to the other side and looked under it, waiting for Harry to come out, only to see Harry crawl back out the way he had come.

"Oy!" he said and Harry laughed, racing for the door.

But Ron was taller, and therefore had longer legs then little Harry. In a few strides he had caught the boy and lifted him up in the air. Black yipped excitedly as he watched the proceedings from Harry's bed.

"Now, are you going to get dressed?" Ron asked.

Harry giggled and shook his head.

"Oh, is that so?" Ron said with a grin. "Well, you'll just have to go down in your pyjamas then, won't you?"

He threw Harry over his shoulder in a fireman's hold and marched out of the room, Harry laughing all the way.

Hermione looked up from her seat in the Common Room as she heard Harry's laughter coming closer, and wondered what was going on. A moment later Ron, who had a pyjama-clad Harry thrown over his shoulder, came into view, and she burst out laughing.

"He didn't want to get dressed," Ron said with a grin.

"I see," said Hermione, quirking an eyebrow slightly and smothering a smile. "Well, then we just won't be going outside today after all."

Harry's eyes lit up. He had had no idea that they were going to be going outside that day and, at those magic words, he wriggled out of Ron's arms and dashed back up the stairs in order to get dressed. Ron laughed and sat down in an armchair.

"He's getting to be a handful, isn't he?" Hermione asked, rather amused.

"Yeah, but at least it means he's happy," Ron pointed out with a grin. Slowly, though, the grin slipped off his face. "Have you spoken to Dumbledore yet?"

Last night Ron and Hermione had decided to go and talk to Dumbledore about Harry's continuing magical progress and the strange things he had done. They needed to tell him about Black, about what he had been doing in class and even about the plant in Herbology. They needed some answers and, if they couldn't get that, then they needed to know where to find those answers. Most particularly, though, they needed to know if Harry was going to replicate anything like what he had done with the salamandas.

"I went up there this morning," said Hermione. "But Professor Dumbledore wasn't able to see me… he told me we could talk tomorrow morning. I think he guessed what this was all about."

"He would have gotten reports from our teachers," Ron pointed out. "Of course he knows. The man seems to know everything!"

Slightly miffed at this lack of proper respect towards their headmaster, Hermione threw him a small glare and snapped her book closed. The glare immediately shifted to a smile, however, when Harry bounded down the stairs, fully dressed except for his shoes, for which he seemed to have developed a dislike for as they were so difficult to put on himself.

"Harry, where are your shoes?" Hermione sighed.

Slightly sheepish, Harry held them up from where he had been hiding them behind his back, obviously hoping he could stow them away somewhere before she noticed. Ron laughed and gestured him over.

"Come on, mate, let's put these on you," he said, almost ripping the lace as he forcefully loosened it.

"Give it here, Ron," Hermione snapped, loosening the lace in a much more gentle way and helping Harry, who was making faces, slip into his shoes. She deftly did two bows and let him stand. "There you are."

"Thanks, 'Mione," Harry intoned rather glumly.

"Cheer up, Harry," Hermione said. "You need shoes on to go outside."

Hearing this, his face brightened and he scrambled to his feet. Hermione laughed and took hold of his hand while Ron led the way out the portrait hole.

Neither of them noticed Harry's brilliant green eyes alight upon Ron's wand, which was sticking out of his pocket. Nor did they notice when Harry carefully pulled it out of the pocket and hid it in the inside of his jacket, casually forcing it to stick in the hem.

No one could even let it be said that Harry Potter was not resourceful.

Oblivious to the mischief their young charge was up to, Ron and Hermione chatted happily with him all the way outside, stopping only to wave or say hello to familiar faces.

It had been awhile since any of them had been outside, and Hermione was instantly glad that they had brought coats to wear. The air was chilly, bringing with it the promise of the snow that would soon arrive for the winter season. It was the sort of weather that told her Christmas would soon be here.

She smiled and she pulled her back tighter at a blast of cold. She wondered how Harry would spend this Christmas… as a four-year-old? As a sixteen-year-old? Or maybe he would be another age altogether?

Strangely, she didn't mind the fact that he mightn't be returning to his sixteen-year-old self any time soon. When he had failed to do so after he had taken the counter potion, she had felt panicked, not sure what to do.

But now… now she liked the presence of her small best friend. He was young and innocent and so utterly carefree. She hoped that the time he spent as a little boy would benefit him, perhaps have a little more of a penchant to smiling and laughing and just mucking around instead of acting as though the fate of the world rested on his shoulders.

Ron was chasing Harry around now and she started moving toward them. She wasn't stupid. In fact, she was far from it. She was well aware that there was a reason the Harry she was most familiar with was so solemn was that something had gone wrong, both before he started attending Hogwarts and during.

During Hogwarts was easy to tell; so many life-or-death situations in the place that he was supposed to feel the safest, not to mention having an all-powerful Dark Lord personally out for his blood had to have had some impact upon his psyche.

Before however… there was something there that Hermione vaguely suspected but did not want to recognise with a conscious thought. Something there that everyone had missed.

She shook her head and sat down beside the tree, the two boys flopping down beside him, both of them flushed and beaming. While the past few weeks had been hard on Harry, they had also taken their toll on both her and Ron too. She felt refreshed as she had not done for awhile.

"Have fun?" she asked mildly as Harry lay backwards on the grass and stared up at the sky.

"Yep!" Harry said. He was silent for a moment and then his brow creased slightly in thought, a very cute expression. "'Mione?"

"Yes?" asked Hermione, trying very hard not to giggle at the thoughtful look on his face.

"Why is the sky blue?" the little boy asked curiously.

"Um..." Hermione glanced at Ron who held up his hands to show that he wasn't going to help. "Because a blue sky is… um… natural."

"Oh," said Harry, as though that made perfect sense. He turned his head to Ron, who immediately adopted a panicked expression. "Won, is the sky far away?"

"Very," said Ron warily.

"So why does it look close?"

"That's… that's because our eyesight isn't strong enough to see so far away so we make the distance… smaller," said Hermione, grimacing slightly as she jumped in to save Ron, who now looked like a deer caught in head-lights.

"So, if the sky is blue, why is water blue too?" Harry demanded.

"The water is actually clear, but it reflects the colour of the sky," said Hermione. Seeing he looked a little clueless, she tried to elaborate. "It _imitates_ the colour of the sky… like its being an echo!"

"Oh!" said Harry in dawning comprehension.

For many long minutes all was silent with Ron and Hermione sharing a look of resignation. It seemed that they were not going to bypass this particular stage. Then…

"Why is the grass green? Why can't it be blue too?"

"Why is Hagrid really tall? Why am I really small?"

Hermione was about ready to find the nearest wall and bang her head on it. An hour… he had been asking questions for an entire hour… _Why is colour called colour? Why is my name Harry? Why am I a boy? Why do people walk and talk?_

"Hagrid is like a giant," Ron supplied helpfully. "But he's only half a giant. And you're just a runt."

Harry frowned at him, but if the desired effect had been a pause in the question, the Ron was sorely disappointed. If anything, it seemed to make Harry more determined than ever to ask away.

"I'm small 'cause I'm only four," he decided. "But why is P'fessor Flitwick small?"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. That was, actually, a very good question, one they had never really thought to ask before.

"We don't know," Hermione admitted.

Harry's frown deepened.

"Why is Hogwarts so big?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"That's the way it was built," said Ron somewhat tiredly.

"Why was it built so long ago?"

"Because… because…" Hermione sat up straight and stared at Harry. "Harry, how did you know Hogwarts is really old?"

Harry looked at Hermione, puzzled, and shrugged his shoulders. It did not matter to him how he had come by the information, nor that he did not remember who had told him, just that he knew it.

"Why?" he persisted.

"Because that's when the people who built it got an idea," said Hermione, filing the incident under her 'strange events to do with Harry' mental filing cabinet.

"Why…"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Ron asked dryly.

"_Don't ask questions!"_

Harry blinked and, before their eyes, seemed to become even smaller as a wary look entered his eyes. He suddenly had the look of a caged animal who was tasting freedom and did not wish to return to captivity.

"Is it… okay?" he asked tentatively.

"It's fine, Harry," said Hermione, shooting a glare at a sheepish Ron. "You can ask all the questions you want."

She was not to know, as a relieved look spread across Harry's face, that they had just jumped a rather large milestone from his past, a milestone that would be left in the dust with all of the others. She had wondered if this time would make an impact when Harry was finally his right age; she didn't realise, however, that it was already doing so.

"So…" Harry looked a little mischievous as he slipped a hand inside his jacket, causing Hermione and Ron to go on guard. He presented a thin stick. "Why do you use this, Won?"

Ron stared at the familiar wooden stick and Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. The red-head blinked and automatically put his hand in his pocket to check that his wand was there. It wasn't and comprehension hit.

"That's my wand!" he yelped.

Hermione couldn't help but shoot him a look of exasperation at this before turning her eyes to Harry and kneeling before him.

"Harry, that is very important to Ron," she said gently. "You need to give it back now."

Harry frowned and clutched the wand tighter.

"Why?" he asked, pouting.

"Because I need it," Ron said, trying to unclench his gritted teeth. He could put up with many things – Malfoy not included – but having his wand stolen was very near the top of the list of the things he hated.

Harry couldn't help but be very curious about the stick in his hand, and at Won's reaction to him taking it. He had seen both him and 'Mione do strange things with their sticks and he wondered why. He also wasn't sure why the red-head seemed so mad.

His lower lip trembled. He didn't want Won mad at him. Would he be happier if Harry left?

Hermione only just caught sight of the little boy's distraught look before he fled, running back to the castle. Fuming, Ron made to give chase, but Hermione caught his arm.

"I will go, you stay here and calm yourself before you talk to him," she snapped. "You know what happens when we get angry at him."

Seeing understanding dawn she rolled her eyes and ran off after Harry, wondering how she was going to convince him to give Ron his wand back.

Ahead she could see sparks flying from the wand and she winced as the sparks hit the floor and immediately turned the stones bright blue. As she hit the coloured stones she cried out as suddenly she was no longer running but sliding, as though she was on ice.

Unable to stop herself, the momentum sent her crashing into a wall and the next moment she was looking up at the roof, feeling a little dazed. Ginny Weasley's face came into view, looking concerned.

"Hermione, are you okay?" she asked.

Hermione blinked and then jumped to her feet, swaying a little at the sudden movement. When the world was no longer spinning she turned anxiously to the younger girl.

"Harry has Ron's wand and he's upset!" she said.

"Which way did he go?" Ginny asked immediately.

"Follow me," said Hermione.

The two girls ran down the corridor. It was not hard to find the route Harry had taken, because the magic he was accidentally letting loose from the wand showed signs everywhere.

There were a group of students looking rather put out as they examined each other's pink skin. Snape, to their horror, was frozen in place as though he were a statue. Colin Creevy walked past them in a daze, a large, dopey grin on his face as though he had been put under a powerful Cheering Charm. One wall was scorched and another had been decorated with splats of mud.

One thing was for certain; Filch was going to murder Harry if he ever found out the young boy had caused such mess.

Finally they came within sight of Harry running up the stairs to the fourth floor. Though fast, he was only little and their longer legs gave them an advantage.

"Harry, wait!" said Hermione.

Harry slowed and looked around, visibly relaxing when he saw it was just the two girls. He gazed up at them as they arrived at his side, huffing.

"You okay?" he asked innocently, hardly out of breath.

Ginny muttered something about little kids having too much energy, but Hermione ignored her and looked at Harry with a smile.

"Ron said he was really sorry for getting angry, Harry," she said. _At least, he will._ She pointed at the wand. "But he does ask that you give that back to him."

"Okay," said Harry with a sigh, leaning against the wall. "But why…?"

That was as far as he got for the next moment the wall had opened behind him and he was screaming as he shot down a steep slide within the very walls. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other and, without another thought, jumped through after him moments before it closed.

"'Mione!" Harry cried, his voice echoing in the slippery stone tunnel that steeped sharply downwards.

"Hang on, Harry!" Hermione said, sliding forward on her stomach while behind her Ginny slid on her back.

They flew around a sharp bend and Hermione caught hold of Harry's hand before he could slip away and the little boy gripped back tightly. Not wanting to lose Ginny either she reached back and grabbed Ginny's foot.

Then together they screamed as they sped through the tunnels.

The students of Hogwarts had begun filing into the Great Hall half an hour previously in order to begin lunch along with the teachers. This was where Ron found himself, full of guilt at his anger and hoping Harry wouldn't be too upset.

In the Great Hall he could see the strangest things, though, that temporarily drove his mind from such matters. There was a group of students with pink skin, some of the Gryffindors were wearing violently orange clothes, McGonagall's glasses looked more like Rita Skeeter's and Snape was hunched over his food, looking more murderous than usual.

A feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. Harry had his wand… had he caused all of this to happen?

With a sigh he sat at the Gryffindor table. Hermione and Harry would end up here soon anyway, as long as Hermione could convince him not to go into hiding. For now he would just sit in the relative peace of the Great Hall.

The peace was soon disrupted, however, by the very distant sound of screaming that seemed to be coming, strangely enough, straight from the left wall. Dumbledore was looking cautiously towards it and, at his wariness, dinner stopped as they waited to see what would happen, all ready to flee if need be.

For a brief moment Ron appreciated the one trait every student had in common; nosiness. At this thought he forced his face to straighten when a grin fought to appear.

Ron had expected Harry and Hermione to turn up for dinner… but even he could never imagined them doing so in this way. As the screaming became louder a sliding door suddenly grated open in the wall and three figures – one small and two larger ones – shot out of the end and landed in a tangled heap on the floor as the wall closed behind them.

The school stared in shock as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley untangled themselves and, looking distinctly ruffled, climbed to their feet.

"The strangest things always seem to happen when you're around, Harry," Hermione said with a sigh.

It was then the three looked around and realised that they were in the Great Hall. As Ginny and Hermione started to blush and Harry looked around curiously, loud whispers started up, whispers full of rumours and speculations.

The three hurried over to Ron and the two girls slunk low in their seats. Harry, however, smiled at Ron and handed the wand to him.

"Sorry, Won," he said timidly.

"It's alright, Harry, and I'm sorry too," said Ron with a relieved laugh; the last time one of them had snapped at Harry Hermione had ended up looking like medusa.

"Why do you need it?" Harry asked curiously.

"So I can do magic, of course," said Ron, clueless about the can of worms he was about to open.

There was a clatter as Harry dropped his fork onto his plate. His eyes went as round as saucers and his face drained of colour.

"M-magic?"

**Coming Up; **_Chapter Sixteen; The Dreaded 'm' Word -_ The people close to Harry begin to learn that there are some wounds within Harry that run deeply, and that they must help him overcome his complete aversion to magic lest he start to lock it all away once more.

**A/N; **Well, people, we're nearing the end of the four-year-old stage now. I want to go through Christmas with him like this first before I try and get Snape to age him again. winks and what happens then is my secret... Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and I really am sorry for the very long delay. I hope it's worth the wait!

Thank you so much to all my reviewers! I've reached 160 reviews now and I couldn't be prouder of it! I seem some people who say they'll only update if they get so many reviews, and I think it's a good idea, but I'm just happy with what I get. So thank you to;

**Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, Moonlite Knight, The Midnight Poster, PaddyWaddy, maraudersbanana, hittocerebattosai, stag-star, Heather, Shinigami Ryuuk AN'07, A, Aldavinur, suzy, HaruJam, **and** iluvchocs.**

You're the people that keep me going and I thank you very much for that.

**IMPORTANT NOTE!** Does anyone have any idea why I am no longer getting emails notifying me of reviews sent to me or of stories that I am keeping an eye on that have been updated??? Fanfiction doesn't seem to be giving me emails any more, and I'm not sure why. Is it happening to anyone else? If someone can help me with this problem, could you tell me what's happening and, if you can, how to fix it, before I try and contact admin or something? Thanks!


	16. The Dreaded 'm' Word

_**Summary**_: An AU fic set in the trio's sixth year. What happens when Harry is asked to test an ageing solution and everything goes horribly wrong once more?

**A/N- **I am so proud of myself! I got this up before my last document even expired! I'm trying to update faster so I stop leaving readers in suspense and subsequently losing them smiles sheepishly However, if I do, have no fear for I have _no_ intention of letting any story I have up die, even if I'm away for ages. Anyway, haven't the holidays gone by quick? For all of you who are on holiday. First Christmas, than New Year... it went by so fast and I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that it's 2008 now!

**Chapter Sixteen; The Dreaded 'm' Word**

Harry huddled underneath his bed covers, which were pulled tightly over his head, just as he had always done in order to avoid the creeping darkness in his cupboard when he had lived at the Dursleys. Yet here there was no darkness to fear and he was safe in the knowledge that he was in company as the sound of Ron's heavy and rather humorous snoring permeated the quiet of the night.

"_There is no such thing as magic!"_

Harry shuddered ever so slightly. Ron had dropped that bombshell on him only that evening, but he just _knew_ the red-head had to be kidding. There was no such thing as magic, right?

And Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always told him that people who thought they were magic-users were _bad people._ But Won and 'Mione weren't bad people, he was sure of it.

No, it was safer to assume that there was no such thing as magic.

"There's no magic," he whispered to himself and shivered slightly again. They had told him he had been doing magic too. "There's no magic…"

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Hermione was concerned as she looked at her silent charge who was merely picking at his breakfast in a way highly reminiscent of his sixteen-year-old self. Something was obviously wrong, and she highly suspected it having to do with finally realising that he had been living around magic.

"_My Aunt and Uncle hate magic," an eleven-year-old Harry told her good-humouredly as he searched for a Charms book in the library. "So they hate me, too, since I am magic."_

"_But that's horrible!" she said, aghast._

"_I didn't even know of the existence of magic before I got my Hogwarts letter, even though my relatives were supposed to tell me," Harry informed her, finding the book and sitting at their table. "They like to think they're normal and don't like anything that threatens that."_

What exactly had Harry been told over the years by the Dursleys about magic? If they hated magic, would they not have tried to teach their nephew to fear what they abhorred?

But it hadn't worked, right? Harry Potter had come to school amazed and awed at the world that had been opened up before him and had charged into learning his spells and potions.

_But Harry's not eleven now,_ she suddenly thought. _He's only four, and I can't keep forgetting that. He's four and very impressionable._

"You should eat a little more," she said to Harry gently, if a little unsurely. An unruly Harry she could handle. A brooding, sulking Harry she could deal with. A mischievous Harry… she was getting there. But she didn't know what to make of this silent, almost shy little boy, so different from just yesterday.

"I'm okay," Harry said quietly, putting his fork down and locking his eyes on a spot on the table.

Hermione looked up at Ron only to find him shoving food in his mouth. She sighed slightly; Ron had not thought anything was wrong.

"_He'll come 'round, Hermione," he assured her. "Just like with everything. Could you help me with Potions?"_

"We have Charms now, Harry," she said to the little boy and, just to test it, added, "I can show you some more magic if you want."

At the word 'magic' Harry flinched slightly and looked up at Hermione with wide-eyes. She smiled at him and, when he leaned forward to whisper something to her, she obligingly leaned down to him.

"But there's no such thing as magic," he whispered urgently but with such conviction that she was a little taken-aback.

Now what? He obviously did not believe magic was a real and, from all the signs, he was very obviously afraid of it. How was she to alleviate this fear of his?

"Harry, I can tell you magic is very real," she said seriously but quietly, pulling out her wand and showing it to him under the table. "Watch this; _Lumos!_"

The end of her wand lit up and Harry shrunk back slightly from it. But a moment later curiosity came to the fore-front and he hesitantly reached out to touch the end of the wand where the light was emanating. There was no bulb, so there was only one other solution for his young mind.

But magic_wasn't_ real, it _couldn't_ be real.

"Just think about, ok?" Hermione said encouragingly, beaming when Harry nodded to her. "If you would like you can spend some time with Molly; you haven't spent much time with her lately."

Harry's face lit up. He loved spending time with the woman he had dubbed 'Mama Molly', she was always very kind to him and she told him lots of stories. Perhaps she could even help him with his new problem.

"Ok," he agreed happily, the smile on his face not as large as normal but the biggest Hermione had seen since the previous afternoon.

"Ron, I'm going to go and drop Harry off with your mum," Hermione said to her red-headed friend as she got up. Seeing him looking mournfully at his half-finished breakfast, she rolled her eyes. "I'll meet you in class."

"'K 'Minee!" Ron said cheerfully, his mouth full.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust even as Harry couldn't help but smile, she started walking off with Harry's hand firmly in hers.

"Now, you be good for Molly, alright?" Hermione said, smiling down at him as they climbed the marble staircase.

"Yes, 'Mione," Harry said dutifully.

Mrs Weasley was in the hospital wing helping Madam Pomfrey when they found her, restocking the shelves of potions. She smiled when she saw the two of them.

"Hello, Hermione, Harry," she said, giving Hermione a hug and then leaning down to give Harry one too. "What brings you here today?"

"Would you object to looking after Harry today?" Hermione asked.

"Of course; any particular reason?" the woman asked shrewdly.

Hermione pulled her away from Harry, who was looking around the white room in a bored sort of manner, and lowered her voice.

"Harry found out that everyone's been using magic, and he's gotten scared of it for some reason," Hermione said quietly. "I think it might have something to do with his relatives, but I can't be sure. Can you talk to him?"

"Of course," said Mrs Weasley, looking a bit grim. "I'll do whatever I can."

Hermione smiled and said goodbye to Harry before leaving, walking quickly so she wasn't late to her first class. Harry looked at Mrs Weasley and she looked back at him with a smile.

"Would you like to help me, Harry?" she asked, extending a hand to the small boy.

For the first time since she had seen the boy when he had de-aged, he smiled shyly and nodded, taking her hand. She wondered about this sudden bout of shyness, but decided it might have to do with the recent revelations and more memories returning to him.

"I'm putting these new potions on the shelves for Madam Pomfrey," Mrs Weasley explained. "When I tell you what colour I want can you hand it to me?"

"Yes," said Harry with a firm nod.

"Well, now, can I have a red potion?"

They continued in this vain for quite some time, Mrs Weasley wondering when to approach Harry with the subject of magic. She did not want to scare him off, but she could not let the fear get out of hand lest he start suppressing his own magic. As she thought about all the things she had heard Harry do, she wondered if perhaps he had already done so during his first childhood.

As they finished she still had not come up with a good way to broach the subject. She sat down on the nearest bed and Harry scrambled up beside her, looking curiously at the completed shelves of potions.

"Molly?" he asked quietly, tugging her sleeve.

"Yes, dear?" she replied, half of her wondering why he called her 'Mama Molly' to everyone but her. It was a name she would have loved to hear from him.

"Are potions m-magic?" he asked, stuttering on the forbidden word.

"Potions are like medicine," Mrs Weasley explained. "We use potions to help us most of the time and we get better by them, though a lot quicker than normal medicine. The only magical thing about potions is they use magical ingredients."

Harry flinched at her use of the word 'magical', not unlike the way most people did when they heard Voldemort's name. After a long moment of silence he thought of another question, the all-important question.

"Is magic bad?" he asked quietly.

"Goodness no, child!" Mrs Weasley said with a laugh, putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. "It is not a bad thing to use magic! Magic is a gift, just as playing a musical instrument or painting a picture outstandingly is a gift that is given."

"A gift?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Yes," said Mrs Weasley with a nod. "You were given magic as a gift on the day you were born and you were meant to use it as much as you could to help you on your life's path."

"B-but, witches and wizards are _bad_ people," Harry said, lowering his voice again.

"Some witches and wizards are bad," Mrs Weasley admitted. "Some witches and wizards use their magic for evil purposes, to kill people and to destroy places. But most witches and wzards, like me, and Hermione, and Ron, and you, use their magic for good so the world can be a better place."

From the pleased smile on Harry's face she could tell he like that idea. She smiled and tightened her hold briefly on Harry's shoulders.

"Who told you magic and people who use magic are bad?" she asked.

Instantly the smile disappeared and he looked down at his hands.

"Uncle Vernon," he mumbled. "Is magic real?"

In answer Molly lifted her wand and conjured a stream of flowers before Harry's astonished eyes. The light from Hermione's wand he could perhaps have managed to explain away had he had more time to think about it. But this… if magic wasn't real then how else could flowers appear out of nowhere?

He picked up of the flowers that were sitting on the bed tentatively. It felt real and it smelt like one of the flowers from Aunt Petunia's garden.

"But magic's bad," he whispered, more to try and convince himself then anyone else.

"Magic is not bad," Mrs Weasley said gently.

"Magic hurts," he said stoutly. He was not sure how he knew it, he just knew that some magic _was_ bad and that some magic hurt.

Mrs Weasley hugged him even tighter.

"There are spells that the bad wizards use to hurt people," she said quietly and the truth seemed to calm Harry and he relaxed again. "But good wizards like us don't let them hurt people."

"So when I grow up I can make bad wizards stop hurting people?" Harry asked innocently, suddenly shy again as a small smile appeared on his face.

A small pang entered Molly Weasley's heart as he said that, for she was well aware that it was the job he would come to dislike as he was pursued by Voldemort. But still she smiled at him.

"If you want, Harry," she said. "But you've got to be able to do magic."

"I don't have magic," he said guardedly.

"Then how did you conjure bubbles once?" Mrs Weasley asked patiently. "How did you create Black? You are very good at magic, Harry."

"I'm not bad?" he asked, his eyes suddenly fearful.

"No," Mrs Weasley said, knowing that Harry needed to hear this before he could ever decide to continue doing magic. "You are not bad by doing magic."

All of a sudden the small boy jumped up and threw his arms around Mrs Weasley's neck with a beaming smile.

"Uncle Vernon says I'm bad when things happen," he said but, before Mrs Weasley could intervene he continued confidently. "But I'm not! You said so."

"So I did," Mrs Weasley laughed, hugging him back.

"So – so I can do magic all I want now?" Harry asked with a pleased smile.

"Within reason," said Mrs Weasley with a sparkling of humour in her eyes. "No more turning Professors different colours."

Harry giggled. Though for him that episode was two years ago, he could still vaguely remember it. His laughter, however, was more a reaction to Mrs Weasley's own amusement.

"So, would you like me to show you more magic?" she asked, pulling out her wand.

When Ron and Hermione returned for Harry that evening before dinner, they were met with the sight of Harry, using his hands, and Mrs Weasley, using her wand, directing colour illusions all around the room as they laughed.

"Oh, hello, dears," Mrs Weasley said when she saw them, entirely unembarrassed as she put her wand away. "I was just helping Harry learn how to do some more magic."

Harry beamed and nodded and Hermione smiled gratefully at Mrs Weasley. Clueless, Ron looked from Harry to his mother to Hermione and frowned.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

Hermione and Mrs Weasley looked at each other and laughed, joined by Harry who decided to be as happy as them.

"Never mind, Ronald," said Hermione, hitting him playfully on the shoulder and nearly bursting out with laughter as he looked around blankly.

"I can do magic!" Harry piped up, grinning at Ron.

"You could do magic before," Ron said, not at all sure what was going on.

Harry frowned and suddenly Ron felt a soft breeze wash over him. As his mother and Hermione started laughing again he looked into the mirror on the wall opposite him, gaping in horror as he saw his bright green skin and silver hair.

"Harry!"

**Coming Up- **_Chapter Seventeen; Winter Wonderland- _Without the severe restrictions placed on him by his dastardly relatives, little Harry is quite enamoured by and fascinated by the snow. But when a blizzard comes to Hogwarts is this a bad thing?

**A/N- ** Okay, first of all, thanks to everyone who is reading this story. And thank you to the reviewers;

** Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, deitarion/SSokolow, B2J, Seku238, razmataz13drums, The Midnight poster, DeathlyPhoenix, boycrazy30002, Evening12, Sephony, hittocerebattosai, Robin, SilentWhisperWolf,** and **mydisconeedsme.**

I have to admit I got more reviews than I expected after such a long period of time! Thanks to those who have kept with me and thank you to all the new people who have decided they liked my story!

I also have a question for those who are reading down this far :). Actually, thinking on it, two questions. Or polls, however you like to look at it.

Very soon, perhaps even next chapter if I can fit it, I am going to implement interaction between the other Houses. My question is; which of the three other Houses would you like to be first?

My second questions is about Harry's aging. Due to my own thoughts, Harry is going to stay four during Christmas before he ages a little more again. My question is, would you like him to stay at his next age, which will be eight, for his birthday? It will be the last age before he returns to sixteen (House points to whatever House you want if you can see my ageing pattern :)!) and I have a fair bit to fit in anyway before that happens, so what do you think? I think it would be a good idea, and thanks to **The Midnight Poster** who gave me the idea. But, I thought I would leave it to the readers and/or reviewers! So please, let me know what you think!


	17. Winter Wonderland

_**Summary**_: Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**NOTE! **This is not a new chapter, for all who have already read this. Unfortunately I made a rather large mistake in this chapter that I had to correct that one of my reviewers was good enough to point out to me. So, I have fixed it! For all who had read this chapter and wondered what it was, I mixed up the basic principal of time with the "little hand" and the "big hand".

**A/N; **Wow, I can't believe I'm up to chapter seventeen already.I am so proud of this chapter! It's the longest yet, I think! I hope its satisfactory and that everyone likes it; let me know! This chapter is actually a celebration for the fact that I've just started University -dances- I'm going to have fun now until the work starts piling up!

I was musing on this story the other day (bear with me, this is one of my usual random, rambling thoughts) and I was thinking how much the story has changed. Of course, as I have gotten older, I have gotten a little more descriptive in my writing and (well, i feel, anyway) better, and I have noticed the change particularly in this story. When I first uploaded it I didn't think anyone would like it and I felt awful after I put it up because I thought it was horrible. Just goes to show we're our own worst critic, hmmm? I never thought I'd be sitting at over 200 reviews by chapter 17!

Anyway, that is enough of my rambling today. Onwards with the story and enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen; Winter Wonderland**

_It is widely believed that the innate magic that most runes possess can perform miracles when used and drawn out properly. For example the rune "heal" would, if it were used well, be enough to bring a person back from the brink of death without the use of the full spell and runes. The user's magic, too, has a profound effect on these runes and…_

Hermione was startled from her reading by the feeling of someone tugging on the sleeve of her long-sleeved shirt. She knew immediately who it was; Harry had taken to pulling on people's sleeves or, if he couldn't reach, pants leg in order to get attention.

It was a difference from the usual exuberance of the child that bounced into the room and announced his presence in the noisiest way possible. Tearing her mind away from such thoughts, she looked down at the smiling, eager young boy.

"Good morning, Harry, you've slept late," Hermione said, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair. "Where's Ron?"

"Still sleeping," Harry said, quite solemnly, before ruining the effect by giggling.

Hermione looked at him, highly amused.

"You're also very cheerful," she noted. "Any particular reason?"

Harry's green eyes picked up at her through his black fringe, the way he had started doing when he wanted to ask them for something. She smiled encouragingly.

"It's snowing," he confided to her as though it were a secret.

"Yes, it started last night," Hermione said, knowing where he was going with this. "Do you want to go out later?"

Harry's entire demeanour brightened and he nodded eagerly.

"Well, we will after lunch," she said. "Ron hasn't gotten up yet and I'd like to finish this book, the one I told you I had to read for Ancient Runes."

"Okay," said Harry, and then he grinned as a sudden idea came to him. "I'll go wake up Ron!"

Before she could stop him he took off, scrambling up the long staircase. Moments later she heard a door open and grinned to herself.

_3… 2… 1…_

Ron's yell of shock echoed throughout the entire tower. Not long after Harry bounded down the stairs again, looking uncommonly smug. He made his way to Hermione and bounced onto the armchair beside her.

"Ron's up now," he announced, causing the few people in the Common Room to laugh.

"I heard," Hermione said wryly.

"So can we go outside soon?" Harry asked excitedly.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked patiently.

Harry moved to grab her wrist in order to look at her watch and then hesitated. When she just smiled at him, took hold of her wrist with surprisingly gentle hands and looked at the clock face.

He titled his head sideways and frowned at the clock. How was one supposed to go about telling the time anyway?

Hermione just watched him before her mouth formed a soft 'o'. Harry was four years old, he wouldn't be able to tell the time! She felt like kicking herself as she smiled apologetically at Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I forgot you don't know how to tell the time," she said. "Just always remember that the small hand," she pointed it out, "is the hour, the big hand," she pointed to it, "is the minutes and this little red one is the seconds." When Harry looked at her, utterly confused, she laughed. "Don't worry, we'll work on that later. The time is eleven o'clock."

Harry's face fell. Eleven o'clock was nowhere near lunch time. A whole hour away! He pouted slightly, but instead of complaining like Hermione half expected him to do, he scrambled up onto the couch beside her and settled for staring at her watch, apparently content to watch an hour slip away.

_Oh, no you don't,_ thought Hermione, purposely moving her watch so that it was covered and snapped her book closed. Looked like she wouldn't be finishing it today after all.

"Let's go see if Ron is up," she suggested, tucking her book back into her bag and holding out her hand to Harry.

Harry looked warily at the stairs, which made her a little worried. How exactly had Harry woken Ron? It had to be good, else Harry wouldn't look nervous.

"Don't worry, Ron won't be too mad," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the stairs. He'll just grumble and be a little annoyed."

Looking a little relieved Harry followed her more willingly as they made their way up the stairs to the sixth year boys' dormitory. The door was still open from when Harry had left through it.

Ron was sitting in his bed, grumpily wringing out his sodden pyjamas. Hermione stifled a snicker.

"You're looking a little wet, Ron," she said, leaning against the doorway as Harry peeked at Ron from behind her legs, her lips twitching.

Ron merely grunted, scowling both at Hermione and their joint charge. Harry was looking fairly apologetic which was completely ruined by the mischievous look in his green eyes.

"Well, you better hurry up and get up," Hermione said. "We're going to go down to lunch in an hour and then we're going to take Harry outside."

"And if I don't want to go outside?" Ron groused, but he nevertheless slipped out of bed and grabbed his clothes before he stalked to the bathroom.

"Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite," was the last thing he heard before he snapped the door closed.

Harry giggled, though he wasn't entirely sure what it meant. From the way Hermione was smiling, however, he knew it had to be funny. It was her expression that prompted his amusement more than anything else.

"'Mione, what do we do in the snow?" he asked innocently.

"Well, you can make snow angels," Hermione said with a reminiscing smile. She had created snow angels all the time as a girl and had taught Harry how to do it when they became friends. "Or we can build a snowman. Or we can throw snowballs at each other."

At the last one Harry's face went blank.

"Why throw snowballs?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"It doesn't hurt," Hermione assured him, seeing him relax. "It's just wet and cold. And it's a lot of fun for a game."

"Can we make a snow man and angels?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Sure," said Hermione as the bathroom door opened again. "Just wait and see."

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Time simply flew by before Hermione found herself leading a thoroughly rugged up Harry outside with Ron holding onto his other hand. Almost as soon as they were outside, however, Ron gave a whoop and rushed away, looking like an oversized child. Hermione and Harry just watched, amused.

"Alright, Harry, what first?" she asked. "Snow angels?"

Harry grinned and nodded eagerly. He couldn't wait to see these snow angels! He wondered why they were made?

So caught in his thoughts he almost didn't notice Hermione fall backwards onto the soft snow, and he just blinked down at her, puzzled.

"'Mione?" he asked.

When she began waving her arms and her legs in the snow, he knew something had to be wrong with her. What was she doing?

Finally she jumped away and Harry's face widened. There, in the snow, was what very much looked like an angel imprinted in the snow. He gazed up at Hermione in awe.

"That," Hermione said with relish, "is how you make a snow angels."

"Can I try?" Harry asked in delight and positively quivered in excitement when she nodded.

He flopped down in the snow and clumsily moved his arms and legs. When he was done he was suddenly struck with the problem that he couldn't get up without ruining it.

Hermione chuckled as Harry slowly sat up and looked around to try and figure out a solution to his obvious dilemma. Just like he had done when she had shown him the first time.

So, as she watched, it was an eleven year old Harry she saw stand carefully and jumped clean of the angel, looking pleased and triumphant, not the four year. She blinked and Harry was small again, grinning broadly.

"I did it, 'Mione!" he crowed.

"Well done," Hermione said. "Why don't we do some more later; I feel like making a snow man."

Harry was very enthusiastic about making the strange man that was made out of snow. Hermione laughed at him and asked him to make some little black buttons for his "coat" if he could while she conjured a carrot for a nose.

Eventually Ron came and helped too. Together the three of them rolled and patted snow and stuck twigs on for arms and buttons for the front, eyes and mouth. When they stepped back and surveyed their work Hermione frowned. There was something missing.

She grinned and with a few twitches of her wand the snow man was wearing a hat and a scarf. With another twist he started waving to them.

Harry, who had not seen her wave her wand, felt his jaw drop open. They had created a real person? Wow!

"Great work," Ron commented.

They made a few more snow angels before the two older students led a wide-eyed, still excited Harry back into the castle from his first ever joyous trip into the snow. He was so excited he could barely sit still at dinner.

"What did you feed him?" Ginny asked dryly. "Dare I ask?"

"We took him out in the snow," Hermione said with a small laugh. "He's just excited about it, I don't think he's ever been out in the snow before."

"Next time we go out we can have a snowball fight," Ron said with a grin after he had swallowed his mouthful of food.

Ginny laughed and smiled down fondly at Harry, who was drinking clumsily from his goblet contentedly.

"Looking forward to Christmas, Harry?" she asked.

Harry's eyes widened almost comically before he smiled shyly.

"Does Santa come here?" he asked.

"Yes," said Hermione. "And he brings lots of presents to good little boys and girls; I think you've been very good this year."

Hermione hadn't known it was possible for his eyes to get any wider.

"Really?" he almost whispered.

"Yes," said Hermione with a nod.

Harry smiled and drunk some more pumpkin juice, pleased and excited and even more contented than before. Did 'Mione mean Santa would really come to _him_ this year?

He hoped so.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

It was a long time after snores filled the dormitory that little Harry awoke with a start, sitting upright in bed. He shivered as the blankets fell and he felt the chill that permeated the room. Why did he wake up?

And then he saw it. It looked like a rain storm, only it was snow instead of rain. His mouth dropping he slipped out of bed and padded over to the window, climbing up onto the windowsill so that he could see out it.

Snow flicked past the window as though it were in a desperate hurry to go somewhere else. There was so much snow now and it was all blowing around really fast!

Suddenly he thought of something and he looked down at the grounds. Easily he picked out a dark shape standing all alone in the middle of the grounds, facing the elements alone. Harry's eyes widened in horror. Simon was going to get buried!

He scrambled down off the ledge and made his way over to where Ron had dropped his warm snow clothes. He frowned as he looked at the many jumpers before just pulling on his shoes, leaving them unlaced as he didn't know how to do them up anyway, struggling into his coat and then, as an after thought, put on the really cool wizard's cloak he loved wearing.

Feeling he was all set he started to march toward the door before hurrying back and jamming his hat onto his head so his head didn't get to cold. Then he quietly snuck out of the dormitory and down the stairs.

He had been out of the tower so many times now that he knew exactly where the exit was, and soon he had scrambled out the portrait hole and was leaving the snoring fat lady behind, her picture hanging open slightly.

It was very late at night and very dark so there were no patrols. Even the teachers had given up long ago and gone to bed. Harry, of course, wasn't to know there even was patrols, so when he got to the Entrance Hall with no problems he didn't think anything of it.

The first thing that hit him when he opened one of the front doors a little was the cold. A blast of freezing, icy air. He recoiled and was about to go back when he remembered Simon the snowman, standing out there all alone and probably being buried right at that moment.

Squaring his little shoulders he plunged into the night, determined to save his friend.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

At first it was not immediately obvious that something was wrong when the few residents of Gryffindor Tower woke up the next morning. When Ron woke and saw some of yesterday's clothing items missing he assumed Harry had gone down to Hermione. And, of course, Hermione assumed that Harry was still upstairs with Ron.

It wasn't until they met and they realised that _neither _of them had Harry that they realised something was very wrong indeed.

"What do you mean he wasn't in his bed?" Hermione asked, her voice rising.

"He just wasn't!" Ron exclaimed. "I woke up and I thought he was with you!"

"Well he obviously isn't so where is he?" Hermione demanded.

"I don't know!"

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, descending the stairs. "I can hear you too all the way up in the girls' dormitories."

"Harry's gone," Ron and Hermione shouted in unison and turned to one another angrily. "And it's your fault!"

"My fault?" Ron asked incredulously. "How is it _my_ fault?"

"Let's see," snarled Hermione. "Harry was in _your_ dormitory… why weren't you keep a better eye on him? Why didn't you wait until he was definitely asleep?"

"He _was_ definitely asleep when I went to bed!" Ron said exasperatedly. "He…"

"Hey, wait!" Ginny shouted, holding up her hands when both sixth years turned to glare at her. "Let me get this straight. Harry's missing and you two are standing her arguing about it?"

That simply sentence hit home. Ron's mouth dropped open and Hermione reeled back as they looked at one another in shock. What were they_doing_? They had to find Harry!

Without another word they raced out of the portrait hole. Ginny frowned and rolled her eyes in frustration before following them, hoping that Harry was okay.

"Where would he be?" she asked, panting as she tried to keep up with the wings Harry's carers seemed to have suddenly been given.

"Outside," Hermione said without hesitation. "He would have gone to see the snowman – I think he thought it was real."

Ginny grabbed their arms and they all jerked to a shock. The younger red-head stared at them in horror.

"You two might not realise because you probably went to sleep straight away, but there was a _blizzard_ last night," she said.

"A blizzard?" Hermione asked, her jaw dropping. "I didn't even hear it!"

"But it might have woken Harry up if he's never seen or heard one before," Ginny said with a frown. "And if he thinks this snowman was real…"

"He would have gone to it to try and help it," Hermione said heavily. "Harry and his hero tendencies… come on, I hope he's okay."

They took off again. The halls were virtually empty as it was the Christmas holiday and a Sunday. Most people would likely still me in bed.

It was when they opened the double doors that they realised none of them had the appropriate clothes on to go outside. Hermione bit her lip and twisted her wand with a muttered incantation and they were suddenly all as warm as though they had a few layers of clothing on.

"A simple warming charm," Hermione explained.

They drudged out, their shoes sinking deep into the fresh snow. They could see the half buried snowman out on the field, still waving though the twig arm, which looked a little loose and jerky.

"We built the snowman yesterday and I made him wave to Harry, but I forgot to take the Charm off," Hermione said as they made their way over to the white figure. "But Harry was amazed by it. I'm not sure he realised that I did magic, though."

"He is only four, Hermione," Ginny said pointedly. "There's a fair few things you can get past four years olds if they aren't paying attention."

Hermione flushed at the reminded of her own thoughts just yesterday. No, he wasn't sixteen anymore and she had to remember that. He was just a four year old child and she had to treat him as such, not like her best friend.

As they got closer they could see a strange little red dome at the base of the snowman. Snow had crept up its walls as though it were a little igloo in the midst of being built, but they could still see the roof of the down.

Carefully they trudged over to it and peered inside. To their amazement there was Harry, curled up with a contented look as he slept beneath the zone, protected only by a coat, a flimsy cloak and his woollen hat.

"How's he doing that?" Ron asked blankly.

A moment later he found himself falling face first into the snow beside him when his sister and Hermione pushed him over in exasperation. Spluttering and blinking the snow off his eyelashes, he glared at the two entirely unapologetic girls.

"Harry," Ginny called gently, tapping on the surprisingly solid dome. "Harry, wake up."

Harry's eyes fluttered open and he yawned widely as he sat up, stretching a little. He was still in his pyjamas, though Hermione was pleased to see that he had at least put shoes on.

The first thing Harry saw as he rubbed sleep in his eyes was three faces peering through his red shield. He blinked up at them and looked beyond them at the steadily rising sun.

_Uh oh…_

"Harry, put this shield down right now and come out of there," Hermione said sternly.

Sheepishly Harry scrambled to do as she said. He looked over at Simon and was dismayed to find that he was half-buried.

"Oh no, Simon!" he cried.

"Simon?" Ron and Hermione chorused as Ginny hid a smile in her hand.

"The snowman," Harry said, pointing. "He's buried."

"Simon?" Hermione asked weakly again, apparently trying to come to terms with the fact that Harry had named their snowman.

Harry looked at her oddly.

"The snowman," he repeated.

Ginny couldn't suppress a giggle as she knelt in the snow beside Harry and looked him in the eyes with as much seriousness as she could muster.

"Harry, you scared us this morning," she said. "You shouldn't come out here without one of us or without asking."

"But Simon was getting hurt," Harry said, his eyes looking uncomfortably glassy.

"Simon is just a snowman," Ginny said gently. "Hermione used magic to make him wave."

Harry processed this for a moment or two before he blushed.

"Sorry," he murmured, looking at his feet.

"Just don't do it again," Hermione said, leaning down and picking him up. She had pleased to find that he had been getting heavier as he ate better. "You scared us very much."

"I promise," Harry said. "Can we make Simon again?"

"Later," Hermione said, exchanging a look with Ron. "I think Ron wants a snowball fight first. But, for now, let's get you inside before you catch a cold for Christmas!"

Harry suddenly looked anxious.

"Will Santa still come?" he asked.

"Yep," confirmed Hermione as they began moving back to the castle. "And he'll bring lots of presents for you to open and then we can have dinner in the Great Hall and maybe you'll be able to even help with the decorating."

Harry beamed, earlier misgivings immediately forgotten. He would love to help with the decorations and have a Christmas dinner and open presents.

But, most of all, he decided that he very much wanted to see Santa.

**Coming soon; **_Chapter Eighteen; Christmas Time is Here -_ Now that he is sure Santa is coming to him, Harry is determined to see him and thank him for bringing his presents. Ron and Hermione try everything from cajoling to a sleep potion, but Harry refuses to be fooled. So what will his two guardians do to keep him from realising the "truth"?

**Thanks to; **

**The Midnight Poster, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, SilentWhisperWolf, maraudersbanana, deitarion/SSolkolow, ladywatertiger, Marauder Madness, Dragonmaster, Lady Bahiya, akuma-chan0326, spacecatdet, ChipmonkOnSpeed, wolfawaken, stag-star, Aria Dragoncrest, Little Miss Elizabeth, nabiki, DeathlyPhoenix, iluvchocs, Sakurabound, Your Hogwarts Secrets, Wonderbee31, taz, hittocerebattosai, Chi Vayne **and**Lily**

It was a record! 25 reviews for one chapter! I almost had a heart attack. I didn't realise me story was so popular!

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review, I loved them all!

**Note;**I have decided (thank you **Little Miss Elizabeth**, who gave me the idea!) that I will change the ageing a little. Instead of a jump from 4 to 8 to 16, the pattern shall be thus; 2, 4, 6, 10, 16. And because I'm evil, I'm going to ask you all to guess what this pattern is now. -grins- I liked it because there are more ages before the Hogwarts years, which is what I originally wanted. House points for those who get it! And, speaking of that, a fair few people got the last one;

**Gryffindor-  
**

**Slytherin- **10

**Hufflepuff- **10

**Ravenclaw- **10

-pouts- more than three people got it, but most forgot to put a House!

Anyway, before I forget, an interesting point was brought up in a recent review from Chapter Three. Mainly that what Harry did by transfiguring Black wasn't as magnificent as I made it out to be and there are a few examples that says it's been done before i.e. McGonagall transfiguring her desk into a pig. I do realise this - now, at least - however I am just go to pretend it was magnificent and all that and I hope you can all pretend with me? -puppy dog eyes- I feel a bit stupid now for forgetting all that, but I do agree it was amazing that Harry transfigured a mushroom into a dog (that stays a dog, mind you) at two without a wand. Anyway, it's done and it's part of the plot so it's all good!


	18. Christmas Time is Here

**Disclaimer; **I own neither anything recognisable from the Harry Potter series, nor do I own _The Night Before Christmas _by Clement Clarke Moore. Of course, neither do I own the coca-cola company, nor the rights to songs by _The Corrs..._ you get my drift.

**Summary**: Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**Genre;** Humour

**Rating; **K

**A/N; **Ta da! Another chapter in less than a month. -takes a bow- I've been working on this _all_ month and I even have started the next chapter! I feel so proud of myself, I'm hoping to update the next chapter even sooner. Hermione gave me some problems in this chapter, she couldn't quite work out what she wanted to think, but I got her in the end. Hopefully this chapter is enjoyable for you all to read as it was for me to write! Enjoy!

**Chapter Eighteen; Christmas Time is Here**

The end of a small pink tongue poked out the side of a mouth as its owner lay on his stomach, carefully writing. This perhaps may not have been so unusual had it not been the sixteen-turned-four-year-old Harry Potter lying in the wet cold snow, using his finger to draw a slightly wiggly line while Ron Weasley sat beside him and watched.

"H!" Harry finally proclaimed loudly and proudly, finished the letter.

Ron looked from his straight letter "H" to the slanted, crooked one that Harry had drawn and grinned. It had annoyed him when Hermione had taken him aside and told him that he would teach Harry at least how to write his name since he wouldn't be attending a pre-school, no buts about it.

"I will be teaching him most else," she had declared. "And this is something I think that you should do."

Of course, Hermione hadn't realised the slightly unorthodox method Ron had employed to teach the young boy. As far as the red-head was concerned, they got to go outside and Harry was learning at the same time.

"Okay, Harry, here's the next letter," Ron said, drawing an "a" swiftly next to his "H".

Harry looked doubtfully at the new letter. This one looked much harder than the first one, but he was determined to try.

Sticking his tongue out again, he painstakingly drew the circle the "a" required. No, wait, that didn't look right. It was connected. He titled his head and looked at it before swiping it away.

Ron almost groaned. It seemed Hermione had been teaching Harry her ways, either that or Harry was just picking up on them himself.

"Doesn't need to be perfect," he encouraged.

Finally Harry had a satisfactory (to him) letter "a" and he was very proud of it. He didn't know what he was supposed to be spelling, but it had to be good if Ron was teaching it to him.

"Now two of these," said Ron, adding two "r"s, which Harry dutifully copied with a little difficulty. "And, last one, a "y"."

It was a funny looking letter, with a tail on the end, but Harry still copied it and, when he was done, he sat back to observe his work. An "H", an "a", two "r"s and a "y". What was that supposed to make?

Ron surveyed the two words. His was much neater than Harry's, but the little boy had done well. He grinned and tapped the snow beneath Harry's name.

"This is your name, Harry!" he grinned.

Harry looked at the word with new eyes, filled with awe. He had written his name? Jubilation filled him and he beamed widely.

"That's my name!" he said excitedly.

Ron laughed and they continued writing the word "Harry" over and over again. Now that Harry had discovered how to write his name, he was very proud and excited about it.

After awhile Harry rolled over and lay on his back, looking up at the sky with a grin. Ron laughed and looked down at him.

"When does Santa come?" Harry asked Ron.

"On Christmas Eve, late at night when everyone is asleep," Ron said.

"What does he look like?" Harry asked with a small frown, evidently thinking.

"Well, people say he's fat and jolly," Ron laughed. "And he wears a red suit and hat. He has a long white beard and a sack full of presents that he gives to all the good children."

"So how does he know where everyone is?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed at the thought that once man could visit _every_ child in one night.

"_Magic_!" Ron said mysteriously, fighting his twitching lips. "He makes sure everyone is asleep first and then he delivers his presents. No one is sure exactly how."

"We have to be _asleep_?" Harry asked, dismayed. "But I want to talk to him!"

Ron looked at the little boy in consternation. Talk to the mythological Santa Claus? If Harry tried to follow through with that, he was in for a bit of a disappointment.

"Santa doesn't talk to the little children, or even the adults," Ron explained in hopes of dissuading Harry from this idea.

"Well, he can't be jolly if he doesn't like kids," Harry said with what Ron would called a "Hermione frown".

"He… just likes secrets," Ron said, though the excuse, even to his own ears, sounded rather pathetic, and Harry's frown became more pronounced.

"I want to talk to him," he said firmly.

The red-head looked at him helplessly. No matter what age he was, Harry was a stubborn person and once he had set his mind on something nothing short of a hoard of elephants could pull him away.

"Look, why don't we go talk to Hermione," Ron offered. "She can tell you more about Santa."

Hermione was, of course, understandably shocked when Harry told her what he wanted to do, and she exchanged an uneasy glance with Ron.

"Harry," she said gently. "You can't just go and talk to Santa. See… he casts a magic spell over everyone on Christmas Eve night that makes everyone go to sleep. Though some say he also makes a potion…"

Ron's eyes briefly lit up at that as he suddenly had an idea. A sleeping potion! Now why hadn't he thought of that? But as he saw the hardened look on Harry's face, he knew the little boy was going to be aware of such tricks.

"Then I won't take a potion," he said, frowning heavily. "I'm going to see Santa."

He saw so firm in this decision that nothing Ron or Hermione said could dissuade him that it wouldn't be a good idea; Harry was bound and determined to see Santa.

"Well, why don't you go upstairs and think of what questions you would like to ask Santa," Hermione suggested finally when it became clear that, somehow, their older and wiser arguments were losing. "I think Neville is up there, so he can help you."

Harry cheered up immediately and he hugged Hermione thankfully before dashing up the stairs. Ron groaned and fell onto the couch.

"_Now_ what are we going to do?" he asked.

Hermione leveled a severe glare, which Ron noted vaguely Harry was also picking up on, at him and leaned back in her chair.

"We need to make sure Harry has no doubts about Santa's existence," she said firmly. "Every child has the right to believe in him."

"So?" Ron asked. "Why don't we just put a sleeping potion in his pumpkin juice and pretend it was the spell?"

"That _might_ work," Hermione said. "But Harry probably won't drink anything Christmas Eve, he's going to suspect Santa put a potion in his drink. So, we need to find another way." Suddenly she got an idea. "And I know how we can get him to meet Santa."

"How?" Ron asked with a frown.

Hermione just grinned.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Harry was babbling excitedly to Neville as he bounced on his bed, and the other boy smiled indulgently at him, clearly pleased to see the little boy so happy. Harry could hardly believe that _he_ was going to see Santa!

"…And then I'm going to thank him," he informed Neville, giving an extra high bounce. "And then I'm going to give him his milk and cookies and then…"

"_Santa doesn't come to bad boys!"_

Harry was so surprised at the sudden voice that he slipped as he landed on the bed and he fell over the side with a _thump._ Concerned, Neville hurried over to see if he was okay only to see the boy looking troubled.

Did Santa only go to the good little boys and girls? What was it Ron had said again? …_A sack full of presents that he gives to all the good children._

Was he, Harry, good enough to get a visit from Santa?

"Harry, are you okay?" Neville asked, lifting him to his feet and then back onto the bed. "That was a pretty bad fall."

"I'm okay," Harry said, biting his lip.

"But…?" Neville prompted.

"Do you think Santa will come to me?" Harry blurted out.

To his surprise, Neville laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Harry, you've been a very good little boy," he said in amusement. "There is no way Santa _won't_ come to you."

Harry relaxed and smiled at Neville, who he didn't know very well. In fact, he didn't know most of the students at Hogwarts very well except for Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

"Want to come and get milk and cookies with me?" he asked shyly.

"Christmas Eve isn't for another two days," Neville pointed out.

Harry actually pouted at that… he just wanted Christmas Eve to come quickly! Neville resisted the urge to laugh, knowing that laughing at him would just make Harry upset. But he just looked so cute with that expression!

"Can we go on Christmas Eve, then?" he asked.

"Of course," said Neville warmly.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung on the fireplace with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The children were all nestled snug in their beds…

Well, all except for one.

Little four-year-old Harry Potter huddled beneath his covers, it was true, but his eyes were opened wide and his eyes were on the clock opposite his bed, watching as the time slowly ticked towards midnight.

He was tired, of course, but he was not going to let that stop him from seeing Santa tonight, just as he hadn't drunk his pumpkin juice that night so he wouldn't fall asleep. The milk and cookies he and Neville had gotten that evening were waiting downstairs and Santa would be here soon…

Finally he could wait no longer and he leapt out of bed, having at least the good sense to put on his dressing gown and slippers. Ron's curtains were tightly closed and Harry crept by them, his mind not even noticing the lack of snoring from the red-head's bed.

Ron was currently hiding downstairs with Hermione, who was suppressing giggles as she took another photo of him. Ron just scowled at her, though she couldn't see it through the thick, white, fake beard he was wearing.

"I can't believe you made me do this," he groaned.

"I can't even tell it's you," Hermione assured him, her eyes glittering. "Wait 'til I show these to Harry, though."

If Harry could see his carer just then, he would not even realise it was Ron. For him, Ron was tall, skinny and red-haired and he certainly did not wear a red suit and hat which Ron's costume demanded, along with pillows packed nicely in the stomach and the beard, which was incredibly itchy.

"I feel ridiculous," he grumbled.

"Cheer up and just remember we're doing this for Harry," Hermione snickered; she was going to love telling Harry about this when he was older. "I'm sure he'll be down soon."

Sure enough soon they heard Harry's small pattering footsteps on the stairs leading from the boys' dormitories and not long after that his form showed up and sat down in the nearest armchair.

"He obviously didn't take the sleeping potion," Hermione said quietly; half of her had hoped that he would take it so that there wasn't a chance Harry would discover them, but the rest of her was pleased.

Ron made to get up but Hermione pulled him down again quickly.

"Not yet," Hermione hissed. "Harry knows Santa Claus doesn't come until midnight."

For both parties the minutes until midnight seemed to take forever to tick away. Ron itched his beard again and sighed inaudibly; Harry and Hermione would never let him live this down.

Suddenly a deep sounding gong rang out once and the realise that it was midnight. But Ron didn't immediately jump out, for he and Hermione were looking at each other in confusion. The sound of the clock sounded very close, but they had no clock that rang out like that.

It gonged again and it occurred to Ron that he needed to get up and see the eager Harry who was scanning the common room. But before he could do so, Hermione clutched his arm.

Swirling, glittering particles were swirling in the air all around them and the very word _magic_ seemed to whisper to them. Even Harry was still in awe, for he had never seen anything like it.

"Did you do that, Hermione?" Ron asked nervously.

Wordlessly Hermione shook her head. She didn't know why, but she continued to prevent Ron from standing, though he had not made another move to. Something was telling her that something miraculous was about to happen, something wonderful…

Slowly the particles retreated and started centring on a place just before the fireplace, forming a vague shape of a large person before it started solidifying. It started from the toes, showing them two big black boots before working its way up the red-clad legs and jacket covered chest and spreading down to the white gloved hands. And finally a merry, red-faced face with a long white beard and a red hat formed and a big man was standing where previously there had been no one, beaming down on Harry.

Hermione dropped her camera in shock, part of her thankful that the floor was carpeted so the _thump_ wasn't noticeable. Ron had taken of his hat and beard and was gazing at the man in shock.

_Santa?_ Hermione thought dumbly.

From her earliest days Hermione had believed in Santa Claus and had been crushed when she had discovered he wasn't real. But… if he wasn't real, then who was standing in the Gryffindor common room?

"Santa!" Harry cried excitedly, looking like he wanted to leap to his feet, but wasn't overly sure of the idea of doing so.

Santa chuckled deeply.

"Hello, young Harry," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "You are much smaller than when I saw you last year."

"Granpa says it was an accident," Harry said solemnly, looking up at him.

"So it was," said the large man with another smile. "But I think it was just the accident you needed."

He leant down and seemed to rummage around in the brown sack that Ron and Hermione finally noticed was sitting at his feet. In triumph he pulled out a small gift wrapped in bright blue paper and handed it to an ecstatic Harry.

"Thank you!" Harry gasped, awed.

Santa laughed again.

"You are truly one of a kind, Harry," he said warmly. "You are special, never doubt that."

"Will I see you again?" Harry asked innocently.

"Most likely not," Santa said, leaning down to give the boy a hug. "But never forget this night, and make sure your friends know of it too."

Harry gazed up at him for a moment before giving him a stern nod. Santa smiled and stepped back, carefully placing two more presents under the Christmas tree. Harry hesitated and then placed his next to them, waved to Santa and disappeared back upstairs. Santa just smiled and in a blink, he was gone.

The clock chimed for a third time.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and then raced to the window, throwing it open as the clock chimed for the fourth time. They could hear the faint jingling of bells as what was unmistakeably a sleigh led by the reindeer experts had proved could exist leapt off the roof and flew away. They swore they heard him chuckle as words reached them;

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

HPHGRWHPHGRW

When Ron, dragged by an eager Harry who was babbling about meeting Santa Claus last night, and Hermione arrived downstairs the next morning they were unsure whether or not to believe what they had seen was just a dream. Under the tree were just the presents they had bought for Harry and each other, and Hermione's camera had been sitting beside her bed when she was sure she had left it downstairs in her shock.

"Did… did it actually happen?" Hermione asked, not sure what to think.

"I dunno," Ron said, shaking his head.

Harry seemed perfectly fine with the fact that Santa's presents were not in their view. Instead he eagerly opened the games (from Ron) and the books (from Hermione) as well as the traditional sweater from Mrs Weasley and some sweets and more books from Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

Deciding just to forget about it, his two guardians opened their presents too, pulling on their sweaters and exclaimed over the gifts they had all gotten. When they were done and they were all put to the side, Hermione stretched.

"Well, I need to get dressed…" she began, but was stopped as she saw Harry's face light up before he wriggled underneath the tree.

Frowning she tried to see what he was getting, but couldn't. She hoped he didn't upset the tree though; traditionally at Hogwarts presents were left at the foot of the bed, but Ron and Hermione had decided to give Harry a more traditional Christmas, thus the reason they were all downstairs in their pyjamas.

"Harry?" she asked.

It wasn't long before Harry slid out, being careful not to knock the tree down. Ron and Hermione's mouths dropped open as they saw him pulling along three presents, one of which was small, rectangular shaped, and wrapped in bright blue…

"Santa's presents!" Harry cried happily, taking the bow and then looking at the other two curiously. "Won, 'Mione, they're for you!"

"Us?" Hermione asked, taken-aback.

She exchanged a nervous look with Ron. Apparently last night had _not_ been a dream after all, though she was still hesitant to believe what she saw. Carefully she took her box shaped present as Harry started opening his.

"Look!" Harry said, pulling out a leather-bound book that Hermione was sure was charmed to never be lacking in free pages. To her surprise a muggle fountain pen also fell out of the package.

Harry opened the cover eagerly and frowned at the note that was written on the first page. He held it out to Hermione.

"What does this say 'Mione?" he asked.

"Let's see," said Hermione, scanning the note. "_Dear Harry, never let go of your dreams and always believe in yourself. Love, Santa._"

"Wow," Harry breathed, awed, as he took the book back and held it reverently in his hands.

Beside her Ron had opened his present and was laughing as he found a red jacket inside with _Santa_ written in white over the right breast pocket. Chuckling, Hermione opened her gift and lifted the lid off her box. Inside was a magnificent camera, much better than the old one that was nearing its use-by date up in her room. A piece of parchment was sitting on top of it.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Try not to drop this one._

_Love,_

_Santa_

Hermione's mouth fell open and she swallowed. Either she was going made, or last night truly happened. Ron, seeing the note, started laughing again and patted her on the shoulder.

"Just accept and believe, Hermione," he chuckled. "I don't think there's anything else we can do."

Hermione looked at him and then at Harry and smiled. _Accept and believe_… yes, she could do that. She leant down and pulled Harry into a tight hug with a laugh.

And, in her heart, a little girl rejoiced.

**Next; **_Chapter Nineteen; Fair and Foul - _What's a boy to do when there's no one around after the new year? Find someone to play with, of course! When Harry sets out on a well-intending mission to find "Granpa" he gets a bit more than he bargained for.

**A/N; **Yes, people, the other Houses are finally going to come into play after so many promises! -winks- I personally think I give which House away in the chapter title, but who can guess? Ten points to the House you want if you get it! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Harry's very _special_ Christmas. The idea for writing in the snow came from The Midnight Poster -laughs- I don't live in a country that snows in Christmas so I wouldn't have thought of it without the prompt. Thanks!

Also, while I remember, I had a concern that Harry, as a four-year-old, was being too open especially after his _other_ life with the Dursleys. I do understand how this comes about, 'cause I probably would have thought the same... but have you noticed how I've started to close him down a bit? He's started to become more shy and quieter? As he's getting older he's remembering more, and they'll have a lot of problems particularly at the next age when he'd been with the Dursleys by then for five/five and a half years when a lot of damage could be done -grins- which is going to be the next thing they have to help him overcome HINTHINT. In response to him being more open - he's a little kid who had never been shown kindness only to get it with all those people at Hogwarts and he started to open up more in response. Hope that answers an queries!

**House Points;**

-laughs- This is a relatively new idea that I picked up from some other stories that I liked, and I hope to get more of my readers to participate the more questions I ask -groans- which means I have to actually_ think_ of questions every chapter...

**Gryffindor;**

**Slytherin;** 10

**Hufflepuff; **10

**Ravenclaw; **20

Thanks also to deitarion/Ssokolow and sqwii - who forgot to leave a House! -grins-

**Reviews;**

Thanks so much to-

**The Midnight Poster, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, deitarion/Ssokolow, kahpfan, HaruJam, Kioko Kajuji, Sakurabound, sqwii, Anna Black, Jensindenial3516, whitelonewolf, ladywatertiger, snapes wife to be, Truth seer**


	19. Fair and Foul

**Disclaimer;**I don't own Harry Potter or any characters or scenes you recognise. I own Aaron, April, Rose and Mason (the Slytherin wanted to be created and there wasn't much I could do about it) and the re-aging potion Snape created… but otherwise all I have is my plot and wacky imagination!

**A/N;** -whistles innocently and rocks back and forth on heels- Weeelll... I honestly didn't _mean_ to leave it so long, and I had really meant to update as quick as possible, but then University life got in the way and then I had a really severe bout of writer's block (and when I say severe, I mean I couldn't write _anything_ for at least two months). And then, suddenly, I was looking at it yesterday and I thought 'I want to write the next chapter!' So, here it is. And it's extra-long and just over 11-pages to reward everyone for their patience! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you guys are what keep me going!

**Chapter Nineteen; Fair and Foul**

Soon the end of the year had come and gone as quickly as had Christmas. Harry was amazed at the fireworks Dumbledore made light up the sky, though his eyes drooped more and more the closer it came to midnight. By quarter past the excitement had worn off and he was sound asleep as Ron carried him up to bed.

The next morning, however, the first of January, he was the first one up and dressed at nine o'clock. Neville and Ron, the only boys in their dormitory who had stayed over the break, were still sleeping, their loud snores making him giggle.

No one was down in the common room either, not even Hermione. It seemed even the brilliant girl was sleeping in after having stayed up so late.

Harry frowned. There was no one to talk to, which he had hoped 'Mione would be awake for. Perhaps Granpa would be awake? He had once told Harry that he always had to get up early to run the school, whatever that meant.

Deciding this was a good idea, he pushed the portrait hole open (the fat woman in the portrait liked him very much and let him come and go as he pleased, despite being specifically asked not to let him out) and climbed into the corridor. The big woman in pink smiled down on him.

"Where are you going, young Harry?" she asked.

"To visit Granpa," Harry said seriously.

"Well, you go on up, then, the portraits will tell you the way and I'll send someone along to let the headmaster know," the lady said, shooing him off.

Harry smiled at her and walked up the corridor. He didn't quite understand why people called Granpa a 'headmaster', he just knew it was something some people liked to call Granpa.

Shaking this thought out of his mind he continued on his way, asking directions as he went. Only one portrait, of what looked like a vampire, wouldn't help and just sneered at him, causing him to hurry along.

The way to Granpa's office, however, was awfully long and Harry quickly got bored of walking. With a huff he sat down at the top of the nearest staircase to wonder what to do now. He knew, of course, that walking to Granpa's office would take a long time, but he hadn't anticipated the way being so dull.

"Hello."

Jerking his head around at the sound of a voice, Harry's eyes widened as he saw a group of people standing nearby, looking as equally unsure of him as he was of them. They didn't look as old as Won and 'Mione, and he had not seen them before.

"_Don't talk to strangers."_

He bit his bottom lip. He had heard someone say that once, but he didn't think they had been telling him, so it should be alright to talk to them, right?

"Hi," he said with a shy smile.

The three children looked at each other and, as though coming to a unanimous, silent agreement, they sat down around him. There were two young girls and one slightly older boy and, though Harry didn't know it, they were all Hufflepuffs.

"My name's Aaron," said the boy, sticking out his hand. "And you're Harry?"

"Yep!" Harry said, eyeing the hand curiously. Seeing this, the boy grinned and grabbed Harry's right hand before giving it a firm shake.

"I'm April," said one of the girls, a short-haired blonde, and then she gestured to her black-haired friend. "And this is Rose."

Thrilled with the new way of greeting he had just learnt from Aaron, Harry shook both their hands enthusiastically, making them both laugh.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" Rose asked him. "Aren't you supposed to be with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley?"

"They're still asleep," Harry explained. "So I'm going to see Granpa."

"Can we help?" April asked. "No one else is awake in our House either."

"Ok!" Harry cheered.

April and Rose each took one of Harry's smaller hands and Aaron lead the way. Harry felt very content with his new friends and hoped that Won and 'Mione wouldn't be too upset to not find him.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Ron and Hermione, at that current moment, were not even aware that Harry wasn't where he was supposed to be. Hermione was yawning as she slipped out of bed and Ron was still snoring, on the verge of falling off his bed.

Fifteen minutes later Hermione was sitting in the common room with a fairly large book, unable to believe she had slept so late and, not long after she had seated herself, Ron lost his unconscious battle with gravity and crashed to the floor.

As he opened his eyes and gazed blearily at Neville, who laughed at him and left the room, and at Harry's empty bed, he thought nothing of it. After all, if Harry wasn't in the dormitory, he must be down in the common room, because he couldn't get out of the tower, right?

It took him nearly half an hour to get downstairs and he was still yawning when he flopped into a chair.

"Morning," he said.

"Good morning," Hermione said distractedly.

Ron looked around, a greeting to Harry on his lips, and then realised that he couldn't find him. Frowning he bent over and looked underneath the chairs and table and then stood up so he could get a proper view of the whole common room.

No Harry.

"Hermione, where did Harry go?" he asked.

"What do you mean 'where did Harry go'?" Hermione asked, startled, looking up from her book. "Harry hasn't been down yet this morning."

"But… his bed was empty and his clothes were gone," Ron said slowly. Vaguely a thought occurred that this seemed to happen _much_ too often.

And then, suddenly, the panic settled upon them as the reality of Harry being missing once more hit them.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

They had been walking for nearly half an hour, wandering around in the vague hope of stumbling upon the entrance to the headmaster's office, before Aaron finally stopped and sighed in exasperation. Rose, April and Harry stopped behind him.

"Does anyone actually know the way to Professor Dumbledore's office?" he asked.

April and Rose looked at each other over Harry's head. And then they looked back at Aaron.

"I thought that was the reason we were following you?" Rose asked.

"Because we don't know the way," April added.

The three Hufflepuff students looked at each other, stumped. The silence was only broken by the sound of Harry giggling at their expressions.

"It's not that funny," Rose informed him, but she could not help a smile that spread across her face; Harry's laughter was infectious.

"Maybe we can ask someone for help?" April suggested.

"Well, I was told the headmaster's office is guarded by a gargoyle," Aaron said self-importantly. "So I think we can find our own way."

"As we have been doing for the last half hour?" Rose asked dryly, causing Aaron to scowl at her.

"I know!" Harry said with a beaming smile, his eyes finding a much taller person who had just turned the corner ahead of them. He pulled his hands away from Rose and April's and ran towards the new figure before any of the Hufflepuffs could object.

The tall seventh year student looked down in surprise as something small collided with his side and took one of his hands in two smaller ones. Blinking, his mind still not quite fully functioning properly, his eyes met two large brilliantly green ones and a sweet, wide smile.

"Hello," Harry said somewhat shyly. "My name's Harry and we need help to find Granpa."

"Granpa?" the seventh year repeated, wondering if he was perhaps still sleeping and he was just dreaming.

"Professor Dumbledore," someone in front of his answered and he looked over to see three second year students.

_Professor Dumbledore… wait…_

"Harry, as in, Harry Potter?" he yelped.

Harry blinked innocently up at him.

"Yes," he said. "Can you help?"

"Er… I guess," the seventh year said cautiously, wondering if this was all just some sort of trick. "My name is Mason."

"Hi, Mason!" Harry said brightly, pulling away and tugging on his hand. "Come on, let's go find Granpa!"

The little boy was surprisingly strong and he almost pulled Mason off his feet. Unbidden a chuckle burst from his lips as the younger students laughed.

"Well, I would, but you're going the wrong way," he informed the boy, wondering what on earth was possessing him to help these people.

"Oh," said Harry, blushing. "Ok, that way, then."

He took one of his hands from Mason's and grabbed Rose's hand. Mason expected him to hold the hand of the other girl too, but was surprised when Harry continued holding his.

"Right," he said, blinking.

"I'm Aaron," the younger boy offered as they walked. "And this is Rose and April. We found Harry and were trying to help him, but we didn't know which way to go."

"Well, I think I'm more than qualified to help," Mason said with another chuckle. "I haven't quite managed to avoid the headmaster's office in the seven years I've been here."

"Seven years?" Harry gasped, staring up at him with wide eyes. "You must be old!" He paused and then added thoughtfully, "Not as old as Granpa."

"That's good," Mason said. "Professor Dumbledore is the oldest person I know. But seven years isn't that long. I'm only seventeen now, turning eighteen years soon."

He hadn't realised it was possible for Harry's eyes to get any wider until they did.

"Eighteen!" he said in awe. "I'm only four!"

"Can you count to eighteen?" April asked with a smile.

"I can count to twenty," Harry said proudly. "One, two, three, four, five…"

"Six, seven, eight, nine," April joined in, and Rose chimed in at number 'eight'.

"Ten, eleven, twelve," Aaron said with a slightly embarrassing laugh as he joined the other three.

Mason was rather surprised when he found himself joining in at number 'thirteen' and, before long, they had counted up to 'twenty' and Harry cheered.

"See?" he said with a nod.

"Yep!" Rose said.

She grinned at Mason, who was determinedly not looking at any of them. He had momentarily allowed himself to let his guard down and join them in the childish game, and now he was kicking himself for being foolish. He was seventeen; he didn't count to twenty with four year olds!

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Meanwhile, the very person that five rather determined people were on their way to see was making his way down into the bowels of the dungeon with a cheerful smile that looked extraordinarily out of place in the dark environment. He reached a certain door and knocked on it, resisting the urge to tap out a tune – it most certainly would not be appreciated at this time of the morning.

His patience was rewarded by the door opening and he was greeted by the sour "bat of the dungeons", Professor Snape. Despite the early hour, or perhaps because of it, his scowl seemed more pronounced than Dumbledore remembered.

"Good morning, Severus," the headmaster said with a smile. "May I come in?"

Snape grunted and stepped aside. While far from a pleasant morning greeting, Dumbledore decided that he had to take what little he was offered in good spirits.

"I've been working on the antidote," Snape said as soon as the door was closed and striding over to a cauldron that was emitting a slightly green haze. "And I think I may have it this time; though whether it will age him to the appropriate age, I do not know."

"As long as he ages," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Last time he aged two years… it is perhaps too much to hope that we can age him another twelve years in one go."

"Yes, I think so," Snape agreed, sounding a little disgruntled. "But even so, I'm not sure whether I should meddle with it if it works this time."

"I disagree," Dumbledore said. "I know you'd want to find out why it didn't work completely, and I think you may even find yourself able to age him even more at once. Perhaps, if it only ages him another set few years again this time, you can change it so it ages if the rest of the way. The problem is that we must not age him too far."

"Yes, I know," Snape said with a sigh.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I shall take my leave then and see if I can find Harry and his guardians. Happy New Year to you, Severus."

"You too, Headmaster," Snape grumbled, causing the old wizard to chuckle as he closed the door behind him.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

The trip to the headmaster's office was going smoothly, despite Mason's occasional bursts of arrogance and Aaron's somewhat sulky frown every time he was called on his lack of directional skills. Harry was happy in the company of the four people even though they were almost complete strangers, and he felt nothing could make him happier… except getting to Granpa's office.

The little bubble of happiness burst, however, when they turned a corner and encountered three very unpleasant people. They looked just as surprised to see them as the smaller group was to run into them; however their surprised expressions quickly turned to disdainful sneers. All three of them were tall, even taller than Mason, and Harry had to crane his neck to look up at them.

"Helping mudblood lovers, Mason?" one of the boys, the ringleader, scoffed.

Mason's lips thinned as he pressed them tightly together and his hand clenched tighter around Harry's, but he didn't respond. April, however, had no such qualms, and she stood protectively in front of Harry.

"Go away," she said fiercely. "We're not bothering you, so don't bother us."

"Look here," guffawed a second boy. "A brave little Hufflepuff! You should leave the courage for the Gryffindors."

"What are you doing with Potter and these Hufflepuffs, Mason?" the ringleader asked in disgust.

"If you must know, we are going to Professor Dumbledore's office, who is expecting us," Mason said, crossing his fingers as he said the lie.

Harry shot Mason a confused look. Granpa was expecting them? Then why were they taking so long to get there? They had to hurry!

"Slytherins don't lower themselves to their level," said the third boy derisively. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I'd be ashamed to stoop to your level," Mason snapped back and Harry shot him a small glare; the grip on his hand was starting to hurt.

"Slytherin?" Aaron whispered to Rose.

"Who cares?" Rose whispered back with a shrug. "He's been nice so far."

"Are you a Slytherin, Mason?" Harry asked innocently, tugging on Mason's jumper.

"Yes, he is," jumped in the ringleader. "A dirty, rotten Slytherin who has no sense of pride in his House. And you know what they say about Slytherins…"

"Won say's they're all evil," Harry informed him, tugging his hands away from Mason's and Rose's and stepping out from behind April, crossing his arms. "But Mason's not."

Mason blinked at the little boy as he showed a strange lack of prejudice for a boy who had spent so much time in the company of Ron Weasley. _Must be Granger's influence._

The other three Slytherin's were just laughing at what Harry had said, which Harry did not like; he _hated_ being laughed at, and that was just what the three unpleasant people were doing. His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed.

No one recognised the danger signs. If Ron or Hermione had seen this, they would already have been backing away or, if that gaze was directed at them, running fast in the other direction. But the three Hufflepuffs and four Slytherins didn't know Harry well enough to know what would happen when Harry got mad.

Thus, when a wind started blowing around them with enough force to make Rose stumble into Aaron, they weren't sure exactly where it had come from.

"Go away!" Harry cried, making an abrupt shooing motion with one of his hands.

One of the Slytherins was blown over and, when he got up, he was completely bright green – hair, clothes and skin. The remaining Slytherins looked from Harry to their companion and took out their wands.

Mason, April, Rose and Aaron took out their wands as well in order to protect themselves and Harry if need be. When one of the Slytherins shot a silent curse at Harry, Mason cast the Shield spell.

However, it wasn't needed. Before the curse could hit the shield Harry made a funny motion with his hand and the curse turned around and shot straight back at the castor, making him suddenly wobble about on jelly legs.

"I'll get the last one, Harry," Mason grinned and shot a well-placed bat bogey hex that followed the three down the corridor as they dashed away.

The wind died down and Harry's four companions stowed their wands away again, barely able to believe what they had just witnessed. Harry Potter had never struck anyone as being exceptionally powerful in anything except Defence, but they had just witnessed first hand the power of a raw wandless magic that had suddenly seemed to have come from nowhere.

For a long moment there was silence and then Harry turned around and looked up at them innocently with a sweet smile.

"Can we go find Granpa now?" he asked.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Aaron, April and Rose, who had never been in Professor Dumbledore's magnificent office before, were in awe as they looked around at the various contraptions around the room as well as the many portraits of deceased Headmasters and Headmistresses, all of whom appeared to be sleeping. Even Mason was looking around curiously; every time he had been sent here was for some sort of infraction so there wasn't much time to look around.

Harry, however, was frowning, because the only living being currently occupying the office was a sleeping Fawkes. Granpa was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Granpa?" he asked, looking around as though the headmaster was going to suddenly jump out from behind something.

"He must not be here right now," April suggested.

Harry's looked at her and then over at Fawkes. He smiled; Fawkes would know where Granpa went! With this thought in mind he ran over to the bird and poked it in the side.

"Fawkes," he whispered loudly. "Fawkes, wake up!"

Fawkes made a funny sounding noise with its beak and nestled his head further under his wing, ignoring whatever was trying to pull him out of sleep. Harry frowned slightly and poked the bird again, harder.

A little too hard. The jab was enough to send the all-powerful phoenix tumbling off his perch with an undignified screech and the bird landed in his ash tray. A snort from one of a nearby portrait told the four astounded watchers that the portraits weren't quite as asleep as they were pretending.

Fawkes untangled himself and stood up on the tray, glaring down at little Harry, who was looking quite sheepish.

"Sorry, Fawkes," he said, wincing a little when the bird's glare intensified. "Do you know where Granpa is?"

With a huff, Fawkes flew back onto his perch and shuffled until his back was to Harry, who looked very put-out. And slightly annoyed at being annoyed about such an all-important issue.

"Fawkes, please?" he pleaded.

Fawkes looked over his shoulder and regarded him seriously for a moment with his black eyes before shaking his head and continuing to ignore the boy who had roused him from his slumber.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Rose offered, kneeling down and smiling at Harry. "He'll be around somewhere."

"Right here, actually," said an amused voice right behind Mason, making the Slytherin start.

"Granpa!" Harry cried in delight, running across the room and hugging Professor Dumbledore around the legs. The three Hufflepuffs and one Slytherin blinked, and then their mouths fell open when Dumbledore laughed and swung Harry up into his arms.

"You've caused quite a stir this morning, young man," he said sternly, though the effect was lost because of his twitching lips. "Ron and Hermione were frantic with worry because you were nowhere in Gryffindor Tower. It wasn't until we questioned the portrait guarding the tower that we found that you were on your way here."

"I wanted to see you, Granpa," Harry beamed, most of what Dumbledore was saying going straight over his head because he was so pleased to finally find the old man.

"How can I scold that?" Dumbledore laughed, ruffling his hair and setting him back on his feet. Then he straightened and smiled at Harry's companions. "Thank you very much for seeing him safely up here."

"No matter!" said April cheerfully, elbowing Aaron and Rose to make them close their mouths. "We wouldn't mind seeing Harry around again!"

"Nor would I," said Mason smoothly.

"But you're a Slytherin," Aaron pointed out, obviously still not have quite gotten past that small fact.

"Your point being?" Mason asked coolly, making Aaron swallow back a retort.

"Well, my thanks, and I'm sure Harry will want to see all four of you again," he said. "Ten points to each of you for your help."

"Oh, we didn't help Harry for points, professor," Rose said earnestly.

"I know," said Dumbledore simply. "Which is why you have earned them."

There was nothing any of them could say to that. Harry grinned at them and they just grinned back and said goodbye, though not before extracting a promise to come and visit them.

When just Harry and Dumbledore were left in the office, Dumbledore looked down at the small boy.

"Now, Harry, have you been good?" he asked.

"Yep!" Harry replied brightly, eliciting what sounded like a disbelieving screech from Fawkes. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in the bird's direction, but didn't say anything, deciding he could get the full story later.

"Well, Harry, Ron and Hermione are currently waiting for us in Professor Snape's classroom," Dumbledore said, holding out his hand for Harry to take. "Professor Snape has another potion for you."

"Yucky," said Harry, wrinkling his nose as they travelled down the moving staircase.

"Yes, I do agree," Dumbledore smiled. "However, you do need to take it. And you might be getting a little older."

Harry looked up at the headmaster with wide eyes.

"Will I forget things, Granpa?" he asked, his eyes starting to fill with tears at the very thought.

"Merlin, no, child!" Dumbledore laughed. "I wouldn't let you take it if Professor Snape said that it did that."

"Oh," said Harry quietly. He bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. "Will I go back?"

"Back?" Dumbledore enquired. "Back where, Harry?"

Harry shrugged, not even sure himself. He just knew that there was somewhere that he very much did not want to go back to.

"Well, you won't be leaving Hogwarts, Harry," Dumbledore said with a reassuring smile. "You'll stay here with all of us."

Harry perked up at that, making Dumbledore wonder if Harry had perhaps been talking about going back to the Dursleys. His downcast expression had looked somewhat odd on the generally cheerful boy, and it disturbed the headmaster that just the thought of that family could bring on such a change.

However, he decided that that was a thought that was best saved for later, perhaps when he was a little older and he could question Harry a little more thoroughly. Right now they had an appointment in the dungeons.

Professor Snape was waiting impatiently for them in the classroom, along with Ron, Hermione and Madam Pomfrey. The moment they saw Harry and the headmaster Hermione's eyes lit up and she rushed to Harry and hugged him.

"Harry!" she said. "I was so worried! Where did you go? Did you get to Professor Dumbledore's office? Did anyone help you?"

"Not to worry, Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled. "He was safe and sound in my office when I found him and he had the help of four very kind individuals who I am sure Harry will want to introduce you to later."

"Can we start, now?" Snape snapped, the little patience he had left wearing even thinner.

"Yes, yes, of course," Dumbledore said, directing Harry to one of the tables when Hermione had let go of him and lifting him up so he could sit on it. "There you are, Severus."

"Here, Potter, drink this," Snape said, handing the boy a goblet.

Harry looked at the green potion inside and wrinkled his nose again in disgust. The potion neither smelt nice nor looked nice and he didn't particularly want to go anywhere near it.

"Come on, Harry," Ron encouraged while Hermione just smiled at him.

"But it's yucky," Harry complained.

"It's alright, Harry," Dumbledore said, eyeing Snape who looked like he was ready to force the potion down the poor boy's throat. "I'll give you a lemon drop after you drink it to get rid of the taste."

Harry's eyes lit up; much to Dumbledore's delight and Molly and Professor McGonagall's dismay Harry had discovered a liking for the little yellow sweets that rivalled the headmaster's. Which meant it was excellent incentive to get him to drink the potion.

"Just take a deep breath and drink it as fast as possible," Hermione suggested.

Harry did so and than gulped down the potion in the goblet. When he was done he let it drop to the floor and he shuddered at the awful taste.

It was as Snape was bending down to grab the goblet that it happened. Like before a brilliant light surrounded Harry, though this time it was a bright blue and it surrounded Harry for longer.

When it had finally ebbed away it was easy to see that he was not yet sixteen still, and Hermione wasn't sure whether to groan in frustration of sigh in relief. He was taller than he had been and Madam Pomfrey quickly waved her wand over him and smiled.

"What age?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Eight years and five months," the nurse announced as she ruffled Harry's hair and Dumbledore gave him a lemon drop. "Exactly four years old than he was five minutes ago. Seems you'll be caring for him a little while longer."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance and smiled.

**Coming Up; **_Chapter Twenty – Experimenting with Magic; _Caring for a now eight-year-old Harry Potter should be a cinch, right? No more tantrums, for a start, hopefully. But if Ron and Hermione think that life should get easier now… then they had better watch out because being the guardian of a very magically powerful Harry is about to get harder.

**A/N;** So, Harry is now eight years old! What terrors can an older Harry Potter, with more memories, magic and mischief inflict upon his poor guardians? –grins- Well, you'll just have to wait an see! Now, the points stand at, so far;

**Hufflepuff; **20

**Gryffindor;**

**Slytherin; **20

**Ravenclaw; **30

I gave half points for a half guessed answer, so if you just guessed Hufflepuff or just Slytherin, you got five points. Where are all the Gryffindors?! You're falling behind! –grins- personally, I was always either a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor for the most part, so I'm good! Go Ravenclaw!

Anyhow, I've thought, and I've decided that I'm going to give out 10 points for those that know what the next major shift and occurrence is going to be HINT it's easy to get, and I've already said it in one of the previous eighteen chapters. I think. If you can't be bothered checking, or it just isn't there, take a guess! (This is my way of saying; oops, writer's block made me forget to think about it until just this moment.)

**Thanks **_**so**_** much to;**

**iluvchocs, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, Siriusly-in-luv-wif-Sarcasm, Lena Yvonne, oxymoron8, Sakurabound, stag-star, Mikee, SaphirePhoenix, air maiden, bookaholic-au, The Midnight poster, tatewaki2000, hemotem, Leopardkala, boycrazy30008, Diamonde** and **grey-shadow-horse**

With those reviews I have reached 237! I couldn't believe it when I saw, and I'm so happy and proud and thankful to everyone who has review!


	20. Practicing with Magic

**A Slight Mishap**

**Summary: **Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be famous and I'd be a millionaire, and I'm afraid I'm neither.

**A/N:** Don't kill me? Just remember, if you kill me, you don't get anymore chapters! I'm so sorry about the delay. I had meant to have this chapter done ages ago! But with uni work and writer's block, not to mention a failing computer, I just couldn't get it finished! As such, this is what I have come up with, and it's a little shorter than usual. I hope it's alright for all of you who were waiting for it to arrive. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty; Practicing with Magic**

He was just staring, clutching the furry brown paw of Teddy, who had been feeling a little neglected the last few weeks. His head was tilted to one side and his green eyes were regarding Ron and Hermione somewhat curiously.

They were currently the only three people occupying the Gryffindor sixth year boys' dormitory, though that would likely change soon as it was getting later. Harry was sitting on his bed and Ron and Hermione were sitting on Ron's bed. If anyone had walked in at that very moment, they would have thought the three were trying to out stare each other.

And they would realise that Harry was winning.

Truthfully, Ron and Hermione weren't exactly sure what to do now. Harry hadn't said much since he had been aged that morning, no matter how hard his two guardians tried to initiate conversation. He seemed perfectly content just to watch them and his answers were generally as short as he could make them.

"So," Ron said, breaking the silence.

Harry turned his eyes on Ron, causing him to smile a little nervously. It was unnerving, the way he was just staring, and he couldn't help but wonder if Harry knew this and was doing it on purpose. This didn't stop him from avoiding the young boy's gaze though and surveying Harry's surroundings.

It was clear to see that Dumbledore had already been here, likely when they had taken Harry outside. Everything was the same except that the bed was bigger and more suitable for an eight year old. The clothes tucked neatly in the drawers were also different.

Harry himself was taller than he had been, though he only stood at Ron's waist, not surprising considering Ron was the tallest boy of his age. Even so, Harry seemed smaller than he should have done. His eyes were big and there was a light smattering of freckles across his nose that weren't there by the time he got to Hogwarts. His hair was as messy as always.

Hermione, however, was looking straight into Harry's eyes as she thought about the glasses that were tucked away in her dormitory. She had kept them safe for Harry all this time, but she wasn't sure when he would need them. She had forgotten to ask Madam Pomfrey to check.

_We can take him later,_ she thought. Right now, however, the thought of Harry maybe needing his glasses weren't important. What was important was that Harry wasn't talking to them!

"Harry, do you want to come downstairs with us?" Hermione asked determinedly. "We can read before bedtime?"

Harry looked at her and soundlessly shook his head. And that was when Hermione started to worry; she had never seen Harry like this and she was concerned over what could have caused it.

Dropping to the floor she crossed her legs and gestured for Harry to come and sit with her. Hesitantly, but smiling, Harry moved off the bed and moved toward her, letting out a yelp as Hermione pulled him down onto her lap.

"Now, what's with the silent treatment?" she asked playfully, careful to keep any scolding out of her voice. "What's so different about being eight?"

Harry looked at her with wide eyes and she got the weird feeling that he was searching for something that only he could see. She must have passed, though, because a moment later he relaxed completely and leaned against her shoulder, smiling as he closed his eyes.

"Nothing, 'Mione," he said. "I like you lots, 'Mione."

"Well, that's good, because I like you lots, too, Harry," Hermione said, amused.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at her before starting to grin.

"Can I have a wand now, 'Mione?" he asked innocently.

"I like you lots, Harry, but that's not enough to get me to give you a wand, little mischief maker that you are," Hermione said as seriously as she could, though the effect was somewhat ruined by her twitching lips and laughing eyes.

By now Ron had gotten the picture and joined them on the floor, and Harry beamed at them both, quite content to sit with his two best friends, feeling very safe.

"So, how about that book, Harry?" Hermione asked after long moments of comfortable silence. "We can stay right here, if you want."

Harry looked at her for a moment, then he smiled, closed his eyes and leaned against her. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so secure with another person and he felt very happy with the feeling. He would feel much happier, of course, if 'Mione would give him a wand… but there were ways to get around that.

When Ron and Hermione saw the smile curving on Harry's lips they were quite sure it was because he was just happy sitting quietly with them. They would have only been partially right.

If they had known what that smile really meant they would have felt a lot more terrified of what would happen tomorrow.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

With so few students around the castle was peaceful after the new year. Many had returned home for the holidays; they had left a little subdued, all wondering if this could be the last time they saw their families. The threat of Voldemort had hung about their heads like a black cloud.

But for the students inside Hogwarts Voldemort couldn't touch them. No one mentioned him, no one thought of him. It was as though he no longer existed for that space of time.

_In fact,_ Hermione thought absently as she sat quietly on her chair. _I haven't thought about Voldemort for months._

Truthfully, she had been so intent on what had then been the seemingly impossible task of taking care of Harry that she hadn't stopped to think about the monster who had made their lives hell the last few years. She had heard nothing of his doings, she had no idea whether he was going to make another attempt on Harry's life (which was the scariest thought of all considering his state of vulnerability) and she didn't even know if anything was being done to stop him before he _could_ do anything.

She sighed and sat back in her chair, looking at Harry's peacefully sleeping face. After a night of restless sleep she had woken in the early hours of the morning with these thoughts in mind. Unable to resist she had crept to the boys' dormitory and sat beside Harry as though on watch.

It was getting later now, though. Soon the boys would wake up, Harry among them, and they would find her in their dorm. Something, however, kept her in her chair, even as the sun started peering through the window and Harry started to stir.

Hermione suppressed a smile. She should have known Harry would be one of the first to wake up in the morning. Her smile was unable to be stifled, however, when Harry's eyes fluttered open and he yawned widely, stretching his arms over his head. How many times had she seen him do that exact same thing after he had woken from a doze?

It was at that point that Harry more aware of his surroundings. His keen green eyes found Hermione and for a moment she thought he might have squinted a little, but then his eyes were wide once more and she decided she must have imagined it.

"Morning, 'Mione," Harry said, rubbing his eyes.

Hermione's smile grew. He just looked so adorable! With the smile turning a little wicked she pulled out her camera and snapped a quick shot of the startled Harry.

"Morning, Harry!" she sang, all her previous dark thoughts being pushed to the back of the mind. She set aside the camera and opened her arms. "Come here."

Harry gladly jumped out of bed and scrambled up onto her lap so she could give him a hug. With a content sigh Hermione buried her face in his messy hair, unwilling to let him go just for now.

"Hermione?"

Hermione blinked and looked up to see Ron sitting up in bed, looking at her with a perplexed look. She smiled softly at him.

"Good morning, Ron," she said.

"Morning, Ron!" Harry chirped from her shoulder.

"Morning," said Ron. "Glad you can say my name now..."

"Don't mind him," Hermione said to Harry, winking at him. "He's a little grumpy in the morning."

Harry nodded solemnly. "I know."

Hermione giggled and set Harry down on the floor so she could stand. "Well, I had best leave so the boys can get dressed. I shall see you downstairs, Harry."

With that she left, far happier than she had been when she woke up.

"What was all that about?" Ron asked Harry when she was gone, but Harry just shrugged and smiled innocently at him in response.

If Ron had been a little more awake he would have seen that smile and been more alert. Harry only gave them his most innocent of smiles when he was up to something. He had only just gotten up, however, so he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary as he shuffled over to the bathroom.

As soon as Ron was in the bathroom Harry started moving. He knew he didn't have long and he had to get this right. 'Mione always told him that he had to practice his magic, and he couldn't think of a better way to do so.

Glancing surreptitiously at Neville's bed and hearing the snoring that was coming from it, he knew he was safe as he crouched beside Ron's bed. Giggling lightly he put a hand on Ron's bed and concentrated.

When it was done he dressed as quickly as possible and fled the room, not wanting to be around when Ron got back into bed. 'Mione was sitting in the common room, waiting for him.

"You're down quickly," said Hermione, looking over his clothes quickly to make sure nothing was back-to-front. "Did you dress yourself?"

"Yep!" said Harry proudly.

Hermione might have answered, perhaps with a word of praise, or maybe another question, but she was cut off by a loud yell that came from the boys' dormitory. Eyes wide she stood and looked at the stairs, wondering if she should go up and see what was wrong.

She didn't have long to wait. The sound of loud footsteps descending the stairs soon met her ears and within moments Ron had come into view.

Hermione blinked. And then her lips twitched.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Ron growled, holding himself stiffly as purple jelly dripped from his form to the floor.

"Not at all," Hermione choked. "In fact, I think the colour purple really... suits you."

That was as far as she got before she broke; she snapped a quick photo with the camera she was holding and then she started to laugh. Ron just looked so funny covered from head to toe in purple jelly that she couldn't help it. Ron crossed his arms and scowled at her.

"What happened?" Hermione asked when she had calmed down, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.

"I went to the bathroom and when I got back into bed I found that my mattress had become jelly," Ron said. He glared at the side of Hermione. "Do you do this, Harry?"

Harry looked up at him.

"I gotta practice magic," he said innocently.

Hermione suddenly no longer felt like laughing as she looked down into Harry's widened eyes. Because it was at that moment that she knew, without a doubt, that they were in trouble. Big trouble.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

When Professor Dumbledore saw Ron Weasley come into the Great Hall at lunch with his skin faintly tinged the colour purple his thoughts automatically went to Fred and George Weasley. However, when he looked at them he saw them looking from Harry to Ron and back again in something akin to awe he knew that this first assumption was incorrect.

Slight dreading what he would see he, too, looked at Harry. The young boy was smiling with all the innocence of an eight-year-old boy, but even from the distance between them the headmaster could see the mischief in his eyes and in his smile.

After that it became easy to deduce that it was little Harry who had pranked his best friend that morning. Little Harry, who had so far only used magic either in class or when he was upset, and who had proven to be extremely adept in the art of wandless magic.

He wasn't sure whether to feel amusement or dread. Beside him Professor McGonagall noticed his face.

"Is something the matter, Albus?" she asked.

"I suppose you could say that," said Dumbledore slowly. "Look at Harry and Mr Weasley and tell me what you see."

"Mr Potter looks a little bigger but otherwise healthy," said the transfiguration teacher, a little confused. "And Mr Weasley..." she paused and squinted, adjusting her glasses slightly as though they were the cause for what she was seeing. "Is purple? Obviously he was the victim of a prank. What do you mean by asking, Albus?"

"What I mean," said Dumbledore, his lips twitching, "is that the son of a marauder has finally come to Hogwarts."

**Coming Up:** _Chapter Twenty-One; Live the Past to Free the Future_ – By the time school returns to session Ron and Hermione are quite annoyed, and sick of being pranked in the name of 'practicing'. But when a simple, innocent comment has catastrophic effects, they may just wish they had put up with it.

**A/N:** I hope you liked this chapter, the characters were extremely difficult to work with; I must have started this chapter at least three times! Anyway, the next chapter is one I have been asked about numerous times, and I feel he is now at an age where Harry's darker past becomes more apparent. Hopefully I can do it justice. But I don't want to lose the overall humourous aspect of the story, so.... well, I don't know. I just know I need to touch on it a bit and hope that it will be good! I'll try and get it up as soon as possible.

**NOTE:** I am taking pride in the fact that I carefully went through this chapter before I put it up, looking for grammar mistakes. Which I will do from now on -is guilty- and is what I should have been doing before. Hopefully I haven't missed anything.

Also, I gave up on the House Points thing – it wasn't working because I think I just wasn't doing it properly :) oh well.

**Thanks To:**

**snapes wife to be, Siriusly-in-luv-wif-Sarcasm, deitarion/SSokolow, PaddyWaddy, Joyce, oxymoron8, FroBoy, hemotem, Mikee, Madam RedRose25, Diamonde, sillywhippet, Krysta.M, air maiden, Flensa, 'Life-so-unnecessary', dragons an' fire, The Midnight poster, The-Resident, CrayonsPink, Murphyangel, RubyPotter, Anon., eoreos, Aussie Imp, Draeconin, PrinceSev, klutzyphoenix** and **Sabishii Kage Tenshi**

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and thanks to those who pointed out my silly little grammar errors; I'm often not aware I've made them if I read the chapter as soon as I've finished. Since I know what was _meant_ to be written there I tend not to pick up on it if it _isn't_ written there.


	21. Live the Past to Free the Future

**A Slight Mishap**

**Summary: **Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. The rights to him go exclusively to J K Rowling who is not, I am sure, struggling to pay for petrol.... wouldn't that be nice?

**A/N:** Yes, I have done it again. It has been months, and I can make all the apologies in the world, but it would not change the fact that I have been extraordinarily busy. However, I have managed to finish this chapter, finally. After this I'll work a little bit on _I'm Still Here_ and _Seeing is Believing_; I've promised myself that I will not put the new one-shot I want to show up until I have done at least a chapter on each of my stories. Actually, I'm thinking of completely redoing _Seeing is Believing..._ have to think about it....

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-One; Live the Past to Free the Future**

It wasn't that long after the New Year before Hogwarts found herself welcoming her students back into the school. They all arrived off the train, chattering happily and feeling much more relaxed after the Christmas break. At the stairs they all parted into House groups and went their separate ways.

For the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins nothing would have changed and nothing would be out of the ordinary. For the Gryffindors, however...

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were the first to arrive at Gryffindor Tower. When they first went through the portrait and into the common room beyond there was nothing at all out of the ordinary. In fact, the common room was quite empty and they were secure in the fact that all was as it should be.

Until a piercing scream sounded from the direction of the boys' dormitory.

They had barely a second to process the fact that a girl's scream had come from the boys' staircase before they were racing up the stairs, hearts pounding, wondering what had happened now. They burst through the door to their own dormitory...

And stopped dead.

A taller Harry Potter than the one they had left was sitting in the middle of the dormitory, and he looked up at them innocently as they entered. Everything about him radiated an aura of having done nothing wrong.

"Er... hi, Harry," Seamus said.

"Hello!" Harry said cheerfully. He remembered these two, but to him he hadn't seen them in a long time, and all he remembered was their names. Proudly he held up eight fingers. "I'm eight!"

"Great, Harry," Dean said with a weak smile, trying to calm his racing heart. "Did you just hear someone scream?"

Harry cocked his head to one side, the very picture of innocence. But he never got a chance to answer them.

"_Harry James Potter!_"

Dean, Seamus and Harry started at the sound of the yell that was coming from the bathroom. But while Dean and Seamus had absolutely no idea what was going on, Harry shifted uncomfortably before getting to his feet and ducking behind Dean.

Hermione Granger stalked out of the bathroom... at least, the two sixth years _thought_ she was Hermione Granger. The bushy brown hair was a dead give-away. The rest of her, however, had undergone even more changes than Harry had.

"Harry... when did Hermione turn into an alien?" Seamus asked uneasily.

"Very funny," Hermione growled. It was her voice alright. Her now yellow eyes were narrowed dangerously. She crossed two tentacle-like arms over her chest and glared at Harry. "What did you do?"

"Magic!" Harry piped up, hiding safely behind Dean.

Hermione growled again and steam actually poured out of her ears. Ron, thankfully still normal, chose that moment to walk through the door.

"Hey, Hermione, could you..." he begun, and then he trailed off, staring at his best friend. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"

"Take a guess," Hermione huffed.

"Harry..." Ron moaned, running a hand through his red hair and turning to look at the little boy. "Did you do this?"

Harry just smiled at him.

Dean and Seamus exchanged a look and then turned back to Hermione, getting a good look at her. Her skin was now bright, electric blue, her yellow eyes were shaped like a cat's, and she no longer had arms and hands since they were replaced by two blue tentacles. Not only that, but whenever she opened her mouth they caught sight of two rows of very sharp teeth.

If Hermione had been scary before it was nothing to how frightening she looked now. The two boys began to ponder the nearest escape route.

Hermione's ire, however, was not focused on them, but at the little boy hiding behind Dean's legs. Suddenly there was a popping sound and Hermione was back to normal, causing her to sigh in relief. Her irritation, however, had not abated.

"What's going on?" Dean asked Ron.

"Harry has been practicing magic," Ron sighed.

"With pranks?" Seamus asked.

"_Lots_ of pranks," Ron corrected, grimacing. "I woke up yesterday morning as a badger."

Dean and Seamus blinked.

"A badger?" they chorused.

"A badger," Ron confirmed. He glared down at Harry too. "And that's not even the worst of it..."

"Maybe I would have been better off staying at home..." Seamus said weakly.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione said firmly, crossing her arms. "These pranks are going to come to a stop _right_ _now_ before he gets into trouble in class."

Harry looked up at her, feeling a little bit uneasy about the tone of her voice. She sounded very mad, even though the magic had been harmless. And he had to practice, right? Why was she so mad?

"You're right," said Ron, causing Harry's head to whip around so he could stare at the red-head. His guardians were ganging up on him. "Those pranks weren't very funny, Harry."

Well, he could easily have guessed that Ron and Hermione obviously didn't think they were funny judging by the way they got so cross with him, but he always turned them back and he never hurt them. He was just having a bit of fun.

"They are very bad," Hermione continued, bending down slightly so he could get the full effect of her glare. "You are being a very bad boy."

"_We aren't nice to bad boys."_

Cringing slightly Harry looked up at Ron again, but there was a hard look on the red-head's face. There would be no support there.

"_You're a horrible, bad person... go to your cupboard and think about what you've done!"_

He wasn't a bad person, was he?

Hermione and Ron were still talking, probably telling him off, but Harry wasn't listening anymore. He clutched, trembling slightly, to Dean's leg.

"...If this keeps up we won't take you to classes anymore," Hermione said, suddenly catching his attention.

"You'll have to sit up here all day," Ron said, crossing his arms.

Harry nodded jerkily. He didn't want to sit up in the dormitory all by himself all day...

"_You'll always be alone..._"

Harry could feel his eyes filling with tears and he quickly ducked his head and tried to blink them away.

"Harry, we don't mean to be so hard on you," Hermione said with a sigh, crouching down to look at him properly. She had seen the tears in his eyes and had assumed, wrongly, that he was just feeling sorry for himself. "But there are other ways you can practice magic, you know."

"Hermione... maybe you ought to leave him with us for a little while," Dean said suddenly, causing her to look up at him in surprise.

She wasn't the only one. Ron was quite shocked, too, and Seamus was surveying his friend as though he didn't know him anymore.

"Well, you've been dealing with him all break, and I'm sure there's some things you need to finish before classes on Monday," Dean reminded her.

She stood, looking uncertain. She _had_ wanted to look over some of her essays, and she was sure Ron hadn't even started his homework, but... she didn't really want to leave Harry, especially with the mood he was currently in.

"What do you want to do, Harry?" she asked.

Harry looked up at her and clutched at Dean's trouser leg even tighter.

"I'll stay here," he said in a small voice.

Hermione was quite taken-aback. For a moment she hesitated, sure that there was some underlying problem, but the sound of Ron rummaging around in his trunk drew her attention instead.

"Alright," she sighed. "Only because I have to make sure Ron finishes his homework. Will you be okay, Harry?"

Silently Harry nodded as Ron grabbed his books and some parchment.

"We'll see you later then, Harry," said Ron, already leaving the room.

Hermione wavered uncertainly.

"Go on," Dean said.

"Bye, Harry," said Hermione reluctantly. And then she, too, was gone.

"_Why?_" Seamus groaned as soon as they were gone.

Dean ignored him, instead looking down at Harry. He alone had noticed the small boy trembling, and he was quite sure that something was quite wrong. He was also aware, however, that the boy would never open up to him.

"Where do you want to go, Harry?" he asked.

Harry stared up at him with big green eyes.

"I want to go to Mama Molly," he said quietly.

"Then we'll take you to her," said Dean with a nod, not in the least bit surprised. Looked like a trip to the hospital wing was in order.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Unfortunately it appeared that today was Mrs Weasley's day off, and instead Dean and Seamus were forced to trek halfway across the castle in order to get to the rooms she and her husband were staying in. Gathering up his courage, Dean knocked on the portrait door, holding one of Harry's hands firmly in his own. Seamus lurked somewhere behind them.

It wasn't long before the portrait opened and there, standing in front of them, was Ron's mother. She had a pleasant face and hair as red as her children's. Dean had never actually met her, despite having dated Ginny briefly at the beginning of the year.

"Er... hi," he said nervously; he rather hoped that Mrs Weasley didn't know that he was the one that had dated her daughter. "Harry wanted to come visit, so..."

Harry solemnly tugged his hand out of Dean's grasp and went to Mrs Weasley. To the woman's surprise, however, he put his arms around her and gave her a hug.

He was shaking slightly. This concerned her, so she looked up at the two boys that had brought Harry with them and gave them a smile.

"Thank you," she said.

With hasty farewells the two boys dashed away. Mrs Weasley looked down at the top of Harry's black mop and sighed slightly.

"Come on in, Harry, dear," she said, ushering the little boy into her temporary living quarters.

She sat down on the sofa so he could sit beside her, and was incredibly surprised when he climbed onto her lap and curled up, laying his head on her shoulder.

Even as a two-year-old and a four-year-old he hadn't shown so much affection. He had certainly never initiated a hug, and he would never get so close to someone unless they invited him to. Molly wanted to think that this was a good thing, but she knew, instinctively, that Harry seeking out comfort like this meant that something was very wrong.

"Harry?" she asked softly, running a hand through his hair; he seemed to like that because he relaxed slightly. "Are you okay?"

She felt Harry nod against her shoulder, so she fell silent, waiting. The best thing to do with Harry was wait for him to come to her. If she pushed he would never tell her.

Finally she felt him raise his head, and she looked down at him.

"Molly, am I a bad person?" he asked quietly.

Molly stared at him, wide-eyed. Her first instinct was to scoff and dismiss the notion entirely. But she could feel him trembling still, and his eyes were very bright. He was quite serious about the question and she would have to be very careful in how she answered it.

"Why do you ask?" she asked slowly.

Harry bit his lip and laid his head on her shoulder again; he didn't want to answer.

"There are different sorts of bad people in the world, Harry," Molly said after a long moment of silence. "I told you about the bad wizards who like to hurt people; and there a non-magic people that like to hurt others, too."

Harry tightened his grip as the image of a very tall man, his face purpling in rage, came into his mind.

"There are some that don't hurt people, but they steal or lie or cheat, and they can be bad people as well," Molly continued. "And there are those that are just plain bullies. Do you still think you are a bad person?"

"I played pranks on Ron and 'Mione," Harry mumbled. "Am I a bully?"

"Gracious no!" Molly so, startling Harry. She forced herself to calm down and smile at him. "My twins love to play pranks on other people, but I wouldn't call them bullies."

"But am I a bad person?" Harry persisted.

Molly paused. He wouldn't let this go, and she needed to know where he could have heard such a thing. She was almost certain Ron and Hermione wouldn't have outright called him a bad person... then again, if they had told him he had been bad...

"Did Ron or Hermione call you a bad person?" she asked.

"They told me I was being a bad boy," Harry said uncertainly. "Because I kept playing tricks on them. And they said..."

He trailed off.

"They said?" Molly prompted.

"Don't leave me alone," Harry whispered with a soft sob.

Molly's breath caught.

"Harry?" she asked cautiously.

"I don't want to be alone," Harry said, tears slipping down his cheeks. "They always left me alone... please don't..."

_They_. Who were _they_? Molly had a pretty good guess as to the answer, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Did Ron and Hermione say they might have to punish you?" she asked, and he nodded. "What did they say they would do?"

"Leave me in the dorm all day," Harry said quietly.

As far as punishments could go that was a fairly tame one. Harry would have free run of the dormitory with Black and all his books and toys, with no supervision... but it seemed Harry, somewhere along the line, had grown scared of being alone, and just the thought of the promised punishment was enough to terrify him.

And yet they still had not gotten to the root of the problem, she was sure of it. _Why_ was Harry so scared of being alone? Perhaps if he had been younger she could pass it off as separation anxiety, but something was very wrong right now.

And, if she had to be honest, there had been something not right about Harry the whole time he had been de-aged. Perhaps now she would be able to find out what that something was.

"Harry... do you remember the Dursleys?" she asked.

She felt Harry stiffen in her arms, and it was all the answer she needed. Yes, in some part of his young mind, he did remember them.

Suddenly she remembered something.

"_Who told you magic and people who use magic are bad?" – "Uncle Vernon."_

"_Uncle Vernon says I'm bad when things happen."_

He had been utterly terrified of magic, not because _he_ thought it was a bad thing, but because his uncle had made him believe it was bad.

Harry had no doubt done a fair amount of accidental magic – and, perhaps, not-so-accidental after what she had seen Harry do the last few months – while he was at his relatives. Perhaps they were now coming to the reason why Harry was showing such spectacular magic as a young boy, magic he had not been able to do when he was older.

Or maybe he had been able to do it, he just didn't know it because he had locked it away so tightly when he was little and just forgotten about it. For the sixteen-year-old Harry that magic had been quite lost. For the sixteen-turned-two-year-old that magic was finally surfacing once more.

"Did your Uncle Vernon call you a bad person?" she asked thoughtfully.

From the way he froze she knew she had hit the nail on the head.

"Lots," he whispered.

Molly's heart went out to the young boy even as she was forced to contain her fury lest she scare him. She had never liked those Dursleys, and this was just the icing on the cake.

"Did they punish you a lot?" she asked.

Harry hesitated, and then nodded.

"How?" Molly persisted.

"They... locked me in my cupboard," he said haltingly.

For a moment all was silent. Had she heard right? She could have sworn he had just said his cupboard... not bedroom, but _cupboard._

"Cupboard?" she asked as calmly as possible.

"The cupboard under the stairs," Harry said, looking up at her. From the blank look on his face she could see he thought there was nothing wrong with what he was saying.

The cupboard under the stairs. They had made him stay in the cupboard under the stairs. All alone, in the dark, locked in with no way out...

Molly wasn't sure whether to burst into tears for him or to floo to the Dursleys and teach them the meaning of pain.

"How long would they lock you in?" she asked. Her voice was shaking slightly, she could hear it, but she hoped that Harry had not noticed.

Harry shrugged. "Long time," he answered.

"How long?" she asked. "Minutes? Hours?"

"Hours," Harry said firmly. "Days."

_Days?!_ Not even Dumbledore would be able to save them from her wand now...

"What about food?" she asked. "Didn't they let you out to eat?"

"Sometimes," said Harry cautiously.

She was about to get up and storm out of there, either to Dumbledore's office or to the Dursleys, whichever came first, but there was still one more question she had to ask. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask it, but she had to know the answer, had to know that she was, hopefully, very wrong.

"Did they ever... hurt you?" she asked.

Harry shook his head violently.

But she knew, from the way his whole body tensed, from the way his eyes filled with tears, from sudden shudder that ran through him, that he was lying.

**Coming Next: **_Chapter Twenty-Two;_ _Lies That Come Undone _– Even as an eight year old Harry keeps his secrets, but now the truth is ready to finally come out. How will everyone react and, more importantly, how will Harry deal with it?

**A/N:** Righty-o. There's a nice little bit of angst. Now I'm going to have to change my genre, I think. Not sure what the second genre will be now, though. One bit of angst doesn't make an angsty story.... well, I'll think about it. The next chapter will be, hopefully, the culmination of everything I have been leading up to the characters finding out; Harry's magic, his relatives and whatnot. I'm still not sure how I'll do it, or what I'm going to do; the definition of "hurt", for example, is still up for grabs. And the few chapters afterward will be... well, you'll have to wait and find out. There are still a few things I want to do with eight-year-old Harry before I turn him back -whistles innocently-

**Thank You to...**

tatewaki2000, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, snapes wife to be, cyiusblack, imokit, athenakitty, annv, Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets, charming2drew, foosel97, klutzyphoenix, PrinceSev, Meeh-san, Ybs, CrayonsPink, phoenixgirl23, bkwrmgrl87, Draeconin, HarryismyHeroicsavior, CatWriter, Griffin Raven

Alright, first things first. I sincerely apologise to all those who I didn't reply to; I can't remember who you were, but I know there were some that I didn't get to reply to; the reviews that were in my inbox (mostly the last three reviewers on that list) being some of them... I think. I'm afraid I just lost complete track of who I had replied to, and who I hadn't.

One thing I must say to Griffin Raven, before I forget, is thank you for reading my page and commenting on my ideas; _Wolf Child _is one that will definitely be seen in the future. And thanks for the book ideas!!!!

I promise I will be a little bit better for the reviews for this story and will answer each and every one of them. Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, and also to everyone who has waited patiently as I, yet again, waited for a ridiculous amount of time before getting my story up.


	22. Lies That Come Undone

**A Slight Mishap**

**Summary: **Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**Disclaimer: **I most definitely do not own Harry Potter or anything that you recognise in this story.

**A/N:** Okay, I know I'm horrible, don't throw things at me? I meant to have this chapter up _ages_ ago, but then I lost it! So blame me being absent-minded on the (yet again) late update. However, Christmas is coming up so I'm glad I got this chapter done in time. Think of it as a Christmas present! I hope I'm not going too far out to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy holiday. And I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-Two; Lies that Come Undone**

Ginny Weasley was well versed in the types of anger that her mother could be prone to.

The most common type was an exasperated sort of anger, which she generally directed towards the twins or anyone who misbehaved. This type was usually followed by long periods of stony silences and the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen.

There was also the outraged anger that her mother usually displayed when she saw something stupid in the newspaper, or when Mr Weasley came home with a story about the minister's latest misdeeds. This type had been seen far more often in the last few years, but it thankfully didn't last long.

But this type... well, even Ginny wasn't sure what this type was, nor was she entirely sure what it stemmed from. All she knew was that it seemed to have something to do with the young boy she was currently clutching protectively by the hand.

It was a _simmering_ anger, she decided, inconspicuously following her mother up the hall. She could see it in the woman's eyes and in the tight lips. The rest of her body was loose, however, rather than tense like usual, and she was giving off the impression of a tiger that was getting ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Something had happened.

Now all she had to do was take a leaf out of Harry's book and try and figure out _what._

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Molly was unaware of her follower. At that current moment she was wandering more than anything with no set direction.

No, actually, that was a lie.

She had two places she wanted to go, but the trick was deciding which way to go first.

She could go to see Sirius and Remus and tell them everything that happened. From there it was easy to deduce what would occur; the three of them would probably immediately go to the Dursleys and enact some well-deserved justice.

Or she could go and see Dumbledore.

Running the risk of being talked _out_ of said well-deserved justice.

Molly's head was telling her the wisest decision would be to go to Dumbledore. The rest of her desperately wanted to go Sirius and Remus.

There was just one thing to do.

"Harry?" Molly asked slowly, causing the little boy to look up at her curiously. "Do you want to go see Professor Dumbledore or –" her voice gained a note of hope, "– Sirius and Remus?"

Harry's face lit up.

"Granpa!" he cheered.

"Of course," sighed Molly.

She was very disappointed, but she tried hard to tell herself not to be. After all, she was walking a far more logical path now... the Dursleys would have to wait. Then a sudden thought struck her and Molly began to smile.

She had bigger fish to fry...

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Ginny couldn't help but shudder as she saw her mother smile. People had occasionally said that Molly Weasley was similar to a saber-toothed tiger. But if they could see her now they would swear she was a shark in a previous life.

It was her mum's most dangerous look, saved usually for those that threatened her family in some way, or those who had done wrong by them. It was the look that promised a long, slow, painful death.

One thing was for sure... Ginny felt _very_ sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of her mother's wrath.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Harry wasn't sure _why_ they were going to see Granpa, but the logic behind it was lost to him as he decided that it didn't matter. He was just excited to get the chance to see the usually busy man.

"Cream puff!" he shouted gleefully when they got to the stone statue, and the gargoyle jumped aside to reveal the moving staircase.

Harry and Molly stepped onto the stairs, not looking back as the gargoyle closed behind them. If they had, they would have seen a stunned red-head gaping after them.

Molly was very quiet as they travelled up the stairs, which concerned Harry. She didn't seem as happy as she normally was, nor was she smiling as much. Shyly he tugged on her robe.

"What's wrong, Molly?" he asked, looking up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

She looked startled for a moment, not having expected the question, and then her face relaxed into a smile and she ruffled his already messy hair. The smile put Harry at ease; if she was smiling then nothing could be too bad, right?

"I'm fine, Harry," she said. "I just have a bone to pick with your Granpa."

"Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.

"A bone to pick?" he asked, puzzled. "Why are you picking bones?"

Molly laughed suddenly, causing Harry to jump.

"Sorry, Harry," she said. "When I say that I have a bone to pick with someone it means that I'm very annoyed at them."

"Oh," said Harry, blinking. "Why are you upset with Granpa?"

"That's between me and him," Molly said, smiling. "Don't you worry about a thing."

"Okay," Harry sighed.

They reached the top and stepped off the stairs. Molly stretched out a hand to knock on the door, but Harry was having none of that. He let go of Molly's hand, grabbed the handle and pushed the heavy door open, oblivious to Molly's scandalised "_Harry!_"

"Hi, Granpa!" Harry said cheerfully as he bounded into the room, Molly cautiously following him.

Professor Dumbledore was the only one in the room, and he looked up as they entered, smiling fondly when he saw who it was. He didn't seem at all put out that they had entered without knocking.

"Hello, Harry," he said, standing up and walking around the desk so he could accept the hug the little boy was running to give him. "Good afternoon, Molly."

"Albus," Molly greeted stiffly, inclining her head slightly toward him.

Dumbledore blinked and then straightened. He smiled down at Harry.

"Why don't you go play with Fawkes?" he asked, sending the disgruntled phoenix (who had not forgotten New Years Day) a significant look. "He's missed you."

"Okay!" said Harry, skipping to the other side of the room after Fawkes.

"What is wrong, Molly?" Dumbledore asked once Harry was away.

"The Dursleys," Molly all but snarled.

On the other side of the room Harry sighed and looked at Fawkes, who was simply staring back at him. This was no fun... the bird didn't seem happy with him at all for some reason. Absent-mindedly he gazed around the room and his eyes landed on Molly and Granpa. To his surprise they both looked very unhappy. Molly was saying something and Granpa was listening.

"What's wrong, Fawkes?" he asked the phoenix. "Why are they upset?"

A moment later the question was answered. Granpa said something in response and then a bomb exploded.

"_YOU_ left him there!" Molly yelled. "Why didn't you ever check on him?!"

Granpa said something else and Molly snorted.

"Oh, don't give me that," she said scornfully. "I don't care anything about blood wards – what was the point in protecting him from the outside when he was being hurt on the inside?"

"It was for the best..." Dumbledore began wearily, no longer bothering to keep his voice down.

"He was a _child_!" Molly said, firing up again. "He _is_ a child, no matter his age! How could it have been the best to leave him in an abusive home?!"

There was a pause. Harry was watching them, stunned. He had never heard Molly raise her voice like that before, and her glare was a little scary. What had Granpa done that made her so upset? And what were they talking about?

"Molly... we can't change the past," Granpa said, passing a tired hand over his face.

"Haven't you noticed?" Molly asked, calming. "We _are_ changing it."

They both looked over at Harry, who tilted his head curiously back at them. Slowly Granpa began to smile and his eyes twinkled merrily again. Content that all would be right again, Harry turned back to Fawkes. In the background the adults were still talking, but Harry had lost interest in what they were saying.

"Why are you mad at me Fawkes?" he asked the bird.

The phoenix gazed at him for a moment and then seemed to relax, hopping a little closer to Harry. Delighted, the young boy reached out a hand and carefully smoothed down a few feathers.

Strangely he had the feeling he knew how to do this, even though he had never done it before. Harry smiled as he thought of a beautiful snowy white owl...

"Harry."

Startled out of his thoughts, the image lost, Harry looked up. Molly was standing there all of a sudden, smiling at him.

"Will you stay up here with Fawkes for awhile?" she asked. "I've got to go do something."

"Okay," Harry said with a firm nod.

"Are you sure this is wise, Molly?" Granpa asked from his desk.

"If I wanted wise and rational I wouldn't be going to Sirius and Remus," Molly said wryly, causing Harry's ears to perk up at the sound of the two names. However, Molly had asked him to stay in the office and that was what he would do.

"Very well, I can't stop you," Granpa said, walking toward the door.

"Can't, or won't?" Molly asked.

"It rests easier on my conscience to say 'can't'," Granpa said, smiling. He opened the door and gestured out of it before glancing at Harry. "I promise we will be right back, Harry. I swear it."

Harry felt a moment of anxiety; they were leaving him alone? But then he gazed up at the portraits lining the walls, and at Fawkes, and knew that he wasn't really alone after all. He smiled back at Granpa.

"Okay, Granpa."

"Shall we, Molly," Granpa said grandly.

And then they were both gone. Harry watched the closed door for a moment and then looked back at Fawkes.

"Let's play hide-and-seek," he said decisively, putting the reason for the adults' departure out of his mind.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Molly Weasley strode determinedly down the corridor, Professor Dumbledore following quietly on her heels. She was somewhat surprised to find that he was not attempting to prevent her from seeing Harry's godfather.

But then... she knew that Dumbledore cared for Harry. And the hard truths that he had just had to face couldn't have been easy. Was it possible that he didn't _want_ to stop her?

He had made just a token protest before deciding to follow her. Why _was_ her following her, anyway? To make sure that she, Remus and Sirius didn't do anything rash?

Then again, what she was doing right now could be classed as rash. Just telling Sirius about his godson's treatment in that "home" was almost as good as going there and hexing them into oblivion herself.

The end result would be the same.

Molly allowed herself a small, humour-less smile. For once she couldn't care less about rules and morals. If she got in trouble with the Ministry of Magic, so be it. She would feel no remorse for giving those _people_ exactly what they deserved.

Finally she found herself standing in front of a door that was somewhat hidden in a little-used part of the school. Not long after her knock it was thrown open by Remus; it would be far too dangerous for Sirius to open the door.

"Molly!" Remus said, surprised. "And Albus! Come in."

Sirius was lounging on an arm chair, but he sat up when they entered, a curious look on his face.

"Hey," he greeted. "What brings you here?"

"To discuss some things about..." Molly trailed off.

She wasn't sure why she was hesitating now of all times. She had come this far. But then she found herself glancing at Professor Dumbledore and she knew.

Dumbledore wasn't just silent company, he had become a quiet conscience. He was standing there, staring her, neither approving nor condemning, just waiting to see what her decision would be.

Molly knew what it _should _be. She should discuss Remus' treatment for the coming full moon and leave, never mentioning Harry, or the Dursleys, or the despicable treatment Harry had suffered there.

She should ignore it herself but petition more strongly against Harry ever returning to that house. Dumbledore wouldn't – _couldn't_ – refuse her now, no matter what she did. Molly would never talk to him again if he attempted to send Harry back to that house.

Nevertheless, what she should do was warring with what she wanted to do. And she knew very well what she was going to choose even before she consciously decided it.

'_Sorry, Albus,'_ she thought, not finding even an ounce of regret in her.

"About Harry," she said.

'_This is _for_ Harry.'_

"Harry?" Sirius asked sharply. "What's wrong with him?"

"There's a few things I need to tell you," Molly said grimly. "Things that I've recently found out about Harry's childhood."

She moved to sit down, Remus and Sirius watching her intently now. But they weren't the only ones. Dumbledore was gazing at her too.

His face was still expressionless, still not giving anything away. Molly didn't know whether or not he disapproved of her actions, nor did she really care. But there was one thing that made her lips twitch and told her Albus was forgiven now. It told her why he had followed her all the way out here and why he had not even _tried_ to stop her talking to Sirius and Remus.

In his eyes she saw he knew what was going to happen. And she knew that he was going to let it.

**Next Chapter: **_Chapter Twenty-Three; No Action Escapes Consequence –_ Molly, Remus and Sirius are horrified to have learnt what they did, and the Dursleys are cheerfully ignoring any thought of their nephew. Naturally these ideas are going to clash...

**A/N:** Yes, what we've been waiting for (if you've been waiting for it); I've been building it up for awhile now, and finally the Dursleys will be confronted. Might have a little Dumbledore in it, but I might wait for the chapter after that where he can angst a little... anyhow, sorry again for the late update and I'll have the next one up as soon as possible. I'm on holiday now so I'll do my best to write more!

**Thanks to:** hemotem, Steel Drums and Island Dances, dragongirlG, JBPM, swiftsword, Aoi Mitsukai, jimmy-barnes-13, Eillipses, nautikitti, EspyLacopa, insaneschitsoid, shanesdragon, 7sins7lies, Celebwen Telcontar, l1ttl3 Sakura, CrayonsPink, Griffin Raven, Romado, Kathryn Marie Black, ceara1888, Death1991

Okay, there was a question about Voldemort; and I have to say that I quite forgot about him with all the fun I was having with little Harry. As such he's going to ease his way back in – and Harry's at the age I was going to bring Voldemort back in anyway :)

Also, if there's anything in particular that you want to see happen to the Dursleys, let me know and I'll see what I can do :)

Thirdly I'll be replying to reviews again starting with this chapter. I've been really slack and I'm sorry to everyone, and I promise I will get back to answering questions and things like that. I thank each and everyone one of my reviewers and those who have stayed reading even though it's been so long between updates.


	23. No Action Escapes Consequence

**A Slight Mishap**

**Summary: **Harry Potter knew something was going to go wrong when, as a punishment, Snape made him test an uncompleted ageing potion. Something always goes wrong. And he was right.

**Disclaimer: **I most definitely do not own Harry Potter or anything that you recognise in this story.

**A/N:** Two months!!!! Only two months. That's good, right? It means you weren't waiting nearly half a year. And I've already started on the next one that I hope to have out as soon as possible!

**Chapter Twenty-Three; No Action Escapes Consequence**

Number four Privet Drive was peaceful, as it tended to be at this time of the year. Only the other day Petunia and Vernon Dursley had seen their "perfect" son, Dudley, off on a train back to Smeltings; now that the Christmas holidays had ended he had to return to school. Saddened by his departure but content in the knowledge that he would be home for summer within the next few months, the Dursley adults had gone back home and relaxed.

Not once during this time had they thought of their wretched nephew, who was, as far as they knew, still stuck in the form of a two-year-old.

This would be their first mistake.

The Durlsyes didn't know what had happened to Harry after they had last seen him, nor did they particularly care. In fact, they were half-hoping that he wouldn't be returning to them at all when summer arrived. They had even gone so far as to make plans that didn't consider Harry being there. After all, if he was truly (and hopefully) out of their hair for good, then they assumed that it meant they had nothing to worry about from him ever again.

This was their second mistake.

Perhaps if they weren't so arrogant and narrow-minded Vernon and Petunia might have stopped to think about what the sudden deaging of their nephew meant for them. They also may have wondered about his memories and whether he still remembered anything from his childhood. This would have led them to consider exactly what Harry could tell the witches and wizards they feared so much.

But they didn't think of any of these things. They were quite content to forget all about Harry and the abnormal world he belonged to. After all, "out of sight is out of mind", as Vernon liked to say to Harry and about Harry.

This was the biggest mistake they could make of all.

But while they ignored the wizarding world, certain members of that same world were no longer content to ignore them. The truth had started to come out, and now the Dursleys, so blissfully unaware of the commotion that had currently been wrought, would be caught up in the furious whirlwind coming straight for them.

Said whirlwind was right now residing in the park in Little Whinging and consisted of only three people; Molly Weasley, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. One could argue that _just_ three people could not be constituted as a largely damaging force... but that would just be underestimating the power of righteous fury.

"Remus, all set for work?" Sirius asked as the three crouched behind some bushes.

Remus smiled grimly and adjusted the new muggle suit he was wearing.

"Yes," he assured his friend.

"Molly...?" Sirius began.

"Ask me again and I will hex you," Molly said, her hand straying to her pocket where her wand was hidden. She didn't look at all like she did just half an hour ago; her hair was longer and blonde, her eyes were chocolate and she was wearing a neat muggle skirt and blouse.

"Right," said Sirius, nodding hurriedly. "You're ready too. So am I." He frowned and held up the small mobile phone he was clutching. "Should be easy enough to work this..."

Remus shot Sirius an exasperated look, but otherwise didn't comment. He had spent nearly an hour explaining to the convict how a mobile worked and how to properly talk into one. Which was ridiculous considering he only had to make one call.

All of a sudden the bushes rustled, causing the three of them to start. Quick as a flash Sirius transformed into a shaggy black dog just moments before a curious little dark-haired girl parted the leaves and peered at them.

"Hello," she said, grinning toothily. "What are you doing?"

"We're sitting," Remus said.

"Oh." The little girl thought for a moment. "That's a weird place to sit. Are you hiding?"

"No, we're just sitting here and talking," said Mrs Weasley kindly.

"Oh." The girl grinned again. "Okay. Bye!"

Her head disappeared. And then...

"Mummy, there's two weird people and a dog hiding in the bushes!"

The three sat in awkward silence.

Remus coughed. "Cute kid."

"Better get a move on," Molly advised. "Before someone comes to check."

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Vernon Dursley was very proud of his job. He did it well, if he did say so himself, and over the years he had grown throughout the company until he was one of the chief personnel on site. As such he felt it was perfectly fine for him to lounge in his very comfortable chair all day and get people to run around for him.

"Sarah, collect the papers on this months expenditure from John's office," he yelled.

The pretty secretary stuck her head through the door, an annoyed look on her face.

"Alright, no need to shout," she said, and then was gone before Vernon could snap a retort.

Vernon huffed angrily. Last month his secretary had left and the company had had to replace her with Sarah, a smart-mouthed young university student. Perhaps he should talk to the bosses about her...

After a few moments, however, thoughts of his annoying secretary had fled his mind as his attention was caught by the jam roll he had bought half an hour ago and had yet to eat. Now was as good a time for it as any, however, and there wasn't much to do until Sarah returned.

It was as he was chewing on his third bite of roll that Sarah returned. And with her was disaster incarnate.

"Mr Dursley, sir?" said Sarah as she laid the papers on his desk. "Here are the reports you requested. And there's someone here to see you, sir, along with Mr Summings."

Vernon nearly choked. Mr Summings was the manager of this branch of Grunnings and he made all the major decisions regarding its employees. Quickly he waved Sarah off and shoved the last of the roll in his mouth, chewing it and swallowing it very quickly as his secretary invited his two guests in.

Mr Summings was not an incredibly tall or imposing-looking man, but he was a prodigy in business. He knew which buttons to push and he knew how to get what he wanted, which was how he had ended up in the manager's position. The man trailing after him was an unknown and Vernon eyed him curiously and a little distastefully.

It was hard to imagine that this man was in any shape or form important. He had the look of someone who had seen, and was still seeing, a hard life of lots of work and poverty. He might have been wearing a new suit, but it was obviously very uncomfortable on him. He couldn't have been that old, but his face was weary and his hair was already greying.

Yet when he looked at Vernon his eyes were hard and piercing. It unnerved the large man, he had to admit, so he instead looked at Mr Summings.

There was no solace there. Mr Summings' lips were pursed and his arms were crossed in the classic pose that demanded he explain himself this instant. Vernon was at a loss to understand what was going on.

"Mr Dursley," said Mr Summings, his tones clipped. "We need to speak with you privately."

"Of course," said Vernon instantly, shooting Sarah a significant look.

The girl rolled her eyes and snapped the door shut. Once it was closed Mr Summings and the other man took the two seats in front of Vernon's desk.

"How can I help you?" Vernon asked.

"This is Mr Smith Algard," said Mr Summings, his frown becoming more pronounced. "He is from the head corporation of Grunnings and he has come to me with some very disturbing news."

Vernon frowned too. What sort of disturbing news? And how did it affect him? A feeling of unease was starting to churn in the pit of his stomach. In an odd moment of perception he knew that something very bad was about to happen.

He was right.

"Mr Algard is here to investigate claims that you are embezzling money," Mr Summings said. "We ask that you give up all your files and reports for pursuance at this moment."

Vernon heard the words as though from far away. This wasn't possible... _couldn't_ be possible! He had never embezzled funds in his life before!

"I... of course," he blustered. "Anything to prove my innocence."

Mr Algard smiled slowly, a smile that sent shivers up Vernon's spine.

"Thank you, sir," he said calmly. "I assure you that it won't take long at all to find what I want."

Vernon stared at Mr Algard. Why did he have the sudden feeling that his life was about to go down the drain?

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Petunia hummed happily as she watered the flowers in the garden. It was still quite chilly from winter, and most of the flowers weren't in bloom anyway, but she liked to make sure that they were healthy before summer arrived.

Mrs Tilburry from next door was in her garden too – a garden that was in far less than impeccable condition. Petunia was aware that she had the best kept garden on the whole of Privet Drive and she had no problems with flaunting it in the face of her neighbours.

"Not much point to that, Petunia," Mrs Tilburry said from over the low fence. "It's barely out of winter!"

"I like to take care of my garden," Petunia said sweetly, making a point of eyeing Mrs Tilburry's wilting violets.

Mrs Tilburry scowled and blushed. She might have replied, but Petunia would never know as her attention was caught by a woman crossing the street.

She was a plump woman with a round face, long blonde hair and soft dark brown eyes. She was obviously well-off – the state of her clothes was pristine and she looked like she took very good care of herself.

She was also looking right at Petunia and smiling, clutching a very expensive looking handbag in her right hand.

Petunia instantly straightened. She didn't know who this woman was, but she was headed straight for number four, and her standing with the neighbours could only be improved by associating from an obviously well-to-do person.

"Petunia!" the woman cried as soon as she was in hearing distance, attracting the attention of Mrs Tilburry and all the surrounding neighbours. "Lovely to see you, dear!"

"Hello," said Petunia, then was utterly surprised when the woman grabbed her in a hug.

"Why, I haven't seen you in forever!" the woman gushed, pulling back. "How have you been doing?"

"Very well, thank you," said Petunia politely.

"Oh, no need for formalities!" the woman said with a laugh, waving her hands. "Don't you remember me? It's Alice Jakes... we went to high school together!"

Petunia smiled. She did not remember the woman, though she did vaguely remember a girl by the name of Alice. However, Alice obviously remembered her.

"Oh, of course!" she said. "How could I not have recognised you! You look like you've done well for yourself since then!"

"Well, I'm a teacher now, and they pay very much for my job there since it's got such troublesome students!" Alice laughed, waving her hands again – Petunia was starting to wonder if standing so close was going to get her hit.

"What a wonderful profession!" Mrs Tilburry spoke up, causing Petunia and Alice to look at her. "I'm Petunia's neighbour. Where do you teach?"

Alice smiled. But it wasn't a smile like any of the others. When Petunia looked at this particular smile she was put in mind of a shark moments away from eating its prey.

"St Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys," Alice said.

Petunia froze. _What?!_

"Oh, I can see how the students would be troublesome, then," said Mrs Tilburry. The other neighbours were starting to wander over too, all wondering about this cheerful visitor from such a facility. "Actually, you might know one of the students there!"

Petunia couldn't move. She was just watching the proceedings, watching as everything she had worked to achieve on this street began to slip away.

"I know all the students," Alice said, beaming. "More often than not I tutor every single one of them at some point."

"Oh, well, one of our own goes to that centre," said the woman from number eight. "You must have heard of him since he's such a trouble maker. Harry Potter?"

Alice blinked and frowned.

"Harry who?" she asked.

For a moment the group stood in silence. Petunia's shock was slowly giving way to horror, but she didn't know how to stop what was happening.

"Harry Potter," said the man from number 3 slowly. "You must know of him, surely. He's Petunia's nephew. How old is he now Petunia?"

"Six... sixteen," Petunia said, forcing the words out.

"Well, can't say I've ever heard of him," said Alice. "I've been at that school for the last eight years and I'm sure I would know of Harry Potter. Unless he's knew? How long has he been there?"

"Since he was eleven," said Mrs Tilburry with a suspicious frown at Petunia.

"Well, I would _certainly_ know of him then!" Alice said, laughing. "If he had ever been there, that is! But that name has never come up on our registers!"

No one was going to say anything now. But they would talk about it later. There would be no denying the word of someone who actually _came_ from St Brutus'. Which meant Harry Potter had never been there.

And Petunia and Vernon had lied.

It would make them wonder what else they had been told about Harry and Dudley were lies. None of them knew Harry. All they had were the words of the older Dursleys, who had told them he was trouble, a criminal, to stay away from him because he was a ruffian who would steal from them as soon as their back was turned.

That was all they knew of Harry Potter, and it was all they had known of him since he was first let out of Petunia's sight when he went to school at six years old.

Petunia knew all this. She was still frozen. In moments Alice had come along and utterly destroyed her reputation.

"So, did you know Petunia well?" Mrs Tilburry asked.

"Oh, yes," said Alice. "Always a very outspoken person and formed very strong opinions of someone after first meeting her. I remember her sister, too! Such a lovely thing she was, though Petunia and she never did get along."

"Sister?" asked the woman from number seven.

"Lily Evans," said Alice. "Only met her once – absolutely beautiful with red hair and green eyes and the kindest disposition you ever did see. Wasn't she, Petunia?"

Petunia had never spoken of her sister – she could see the looks of curiosity on her neighbours' faces. In fact, all of them had thought she was an only child before Harry had arrived and she had had to work fast to give them a sob story about their falling out at the time.

"Of course..." she said. "She died long ago, but we never spoke much..."

"I would assume as much," said Alice with a frown. "Especially after you called her a no-good freak and her boyfriend a drunken freeloader. I'd not speak much to you either."

Petunia felt herself pale. How did Alice know about that?! Who had she been speaking to?

"Well, I thought I'd just stop by and see you since I was in the area," Alice said pleasantly; she seemed far too cheerful for someone that had just ruined Petunia. "I hope to see you again soon, Petunia!"

"Yes, me too," Petunia lied.

With a jaunty wave Alice set off down the street at a brisk walk, whistling as she went. Petunia and her neighbours watched her go, and then everyone started wandering away.

In groups.

Talking.

Petunia had no doubt that they were talking about her. This street thrived on gossip of any sorts, and a scandal had occurred right in front of them. Not only was Petunia's nephew likely not the delinquent they had been told he was, but Petunia had been the cause of the rift between her and her sister!

Later the neighbours would lament about 'poor Harry' and the life he had likely lived with the Dursleys. The stories would blow out of proportion, though come far closer to the truth than they likely meant to.

One thing was for certain; no one would ever again believe a word that Petunia Dursley said, and they would certainly never envy her again.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Vernon was sweating. Mr Algard had found some papers and had frowned heavily before calling Mr Summings over to look at them. For ten minutes they had looked over those papers and then Mr Summings had made a quiet call.

That had been half an hour ago. Mr Summings had received a call barely moments ago and, as Vernon watched, he hung up on whoever it was and pulled out a radio.

"Security, please send my guests up to Vernon Dursley's office," Mr Summings said. "Tell them our finds have proved conclusive."

"What?" Vernon asked nervously.

No one answer. Five minutes later the police burst through the door and Mr Algard stood up, papers held in hand.

"You've been embezzling, Mr Dursley," he said. "Thousands and thousands have gone missing and you didn't cover your tracks well enough. You're under arrest."

"And you're fired," Mr Summings said gravely.

Vernon blustered. He yelled. The police had to knock him to the floor to handcuff him, and he yelled all the way out of the building and into the police car. Something had gone wrong and someone had made a terrible mistake. It had to be.

Mr Algard, a.k.a Remus Lupin, smiled slowly and straightened his tie. There would be no escape for Vernon.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

As his parents experienced the worst day of their lives, second only to the day they found Harry on their doorstep, Dudley Dursley was also experiencing the worst day of _his_ life. Currently he was standing in the principal's office and was being read a list of all the evidence they had supposedly collected on him.

Everything seemed to have been brought to light by one anonymous phone call who had complained about a child that his son (who they had refused to name) had mentioned had bullied him. That phone call had sent the teachers and principal into investigative mode and they had pulled up every file, every complaint and spoken to as many of the students as possible.

Now the results were being read to Dudley.

The problem was that it was all true, every single count of bullying and destruction of property. They had tried to call his parents, but both of them had been unavailable so far.

Finally the principal leaned forwards in his chair.

"We do not tolerate bullying, Dursley," he said sharply. "Nor do we tolerate destruction of _our_ property, or smoking, or any of the countless other things we have found on you. We should be calling a detention centre for you... but I will give you one chance to turn yourself around. I will not call them."

Dudley found himself sag in relief. He had dodged a bullet.

"Now, go pack."

Dudley blinked. "What?" he asked stupidly.

"I might not call the detention centre, but nor will I tolerate your presence in my school any longer," the principal said. "You are expelled."

Dudley gulped. His parents were going to kill him.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Petunia sat on her own lounge, staring sightlessly at the television in the corner. She felt numb, utterly numb after the day's events.

Dudley was expelled and he was sulking in his room.

Vernon was in jail, arrested after a false accusation of embezzlement.

Her reputation was in ruin.

What was she going to do?

At that moment someone knocked on the door. Petunia considered just ignoring it but, when they knocked again, she sighed and pulled herself up.

When she answered it she wished she had just stayed where she was.

"Good evening, Petunia," said Albus Dumbledore gravely.

"You!" Petunia gasped. "What are you doing here?" And then a thought occurred to her. "You're responsible aren't you? For everything that happened today. It's too much of a coincidence that you would show up straight after it all!"

"That it is," said Dumbledore, the smallest hint of a smile on his face. "While I was not personally responsible I know those who were."

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"Because you deserved it."

Petunia felt all the breath leave her body.

"The atrocious care that you gave your nephew has finally come back to bite you," said Dumbledore, sounding as pleasant as though he could be simply discussing the weather. "I would not stop your comeuppance for all the tea in china."

Petunia struggled to say something.

"So... why are you here?" she finally croaked out.

Dumbledore smiled. It was a smile that reminded her of the smile Alice had given her before she ruined her life.

"Don't presume that I would let you off lightly, Petunia," said Dumbledore. "I trusted you and you forsook that. Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had their turn." He smiled again. "Now it is mine."

Petunia took one look at him and was unable to prevent the whimper that escaped her.

Because she knew, at that moment, that her world was about to crash down around her ears.

**Next Chapter; **_Chapter Twenty-Three; The Dilemma – _Ron and Hermione find that their day gets a lot more exciting when they hear what Ginny witnessed. From there they investigate, though they might not like the answers they discover.

**A/N;** Okay, I will say now that I will not actually write a scene about what Dumbledore did. Later there will be a mention of it, but no actual scene unless I decide to write a one-shot to tie in with it. The last part of this chapter was simply to say that even Dumbledore was not going to sit back and take what happened calmly.

On another note I've started the next chapter and hope to get it up shortly. I hope this chapter met expectations; I was so nervous about it because most of the people who reviewed said they were looking forward to good Dursley comeuppance! I did the best I could with it and I hope you feel they got proper punishment.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed;

tatewaki2000, dragongirlG, jimmy-barnes-13, Teufel1987, bkwrmgrl87, wierdiesRus-WerdrThnUSince1908, stefunny2010, angelic fanfic writer, Alexandra Knight, zarkan, jbfritz, fanfic addict o.0, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, loretta537, HevenSentHellBroken, and Starlit Warrior

Special thanks to Teufel1987 who gave me the basis of ideas for this chapters. When I got your review my thinking changed and you see what you see now. So thank you!


	24. The Dilemma

**Disclaimer;** I don't own Harry Potter. Just the plot in which I like to torture the characters.

**A/N; **Such a short update after so long… I'm so sorry about that. I had trouble with the ending for some reason, otherwise I would have had it up not long after the other way. Rest assured that it is here, however! And in time for a special event, which happens to be my birthday tomorrow. I'm so happy and excited that I thought I'd share my enthusiasm with all of you wonderful readers with another update. This is a thanks to say 'thanks for sticking with me so long!' So enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Four; The Dilemma**

Ron tapped his quill impatiently on the low table in front of the fireplace, staring unseeingly at the five lines he had written of his Charms essay. If it had been up to him he would have given up an hour ago and tried to find something more interesting to do.

Unfortunately Hermione was sitting right there and it seemed that every time Ron even thought about moving, she would look up and give him a beady glare to keep him in place. This was particularly galling considering _she_ spent the time she wasn't glaring at him staring into space. Finally Ron dropped his quill to the table, sat back and frowned at Hermione.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Just... wondering when Harry is getting back," Hermione said.

It was said casually, but it was the guilty start she gave upon being interrupted that told Ron something else was up. He couldn't possibly think what it was, though.

"Seamus and Dean mentioned as they passed that they dropped Harry off with mum," Ron said.

"Did they?" Hermione asked, blinking. "I didn't hear them."

"Everyone around us heard them, Hermione," Ron said incredulously. "How could you not?"

Hermione simply shrugged and pulled her transfiguration essay toward her. At first Ron thought she was looking through it, but then it occurred to him that her eyes weren't moving at all.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Just... Harry looked upset, didn't he?" Hermione asked.

With vivid recollection Ron couldn't help but remember the last few times Harry had gotten upset. He cleared his throat.

"He looked fine," he said firmly.

"But he didn't even want to stay with us, Ron!" Hermione burst out. "I mean, I know he had done something bad, and we were right to tell him off, but there was just something else really wrong."

Ron hoped not. With the pranks Harry had been playing lately he didn't want to think what a Harry who felt he had been wronged could do.

"Well... maybe he just didn't like getting told off?" he suggested.

Hermione gave him a look that told him without words just how stupid she thought that idea was. Ron frowned and sat back. At least he was giving her ideas instead of just sitting there and thinking about it as she had done for the last hour.

Then he had a brilliant idea.

"We could go find him," he said brightly.

Not only would Hermione stop sulking (because that was what she was doing, no matter how much she might try and deny it) but he would also get out of doing his homework for the time being. Mentally Ron crossed his fingers as he watched her consider it.

"No," she said eventually, and Ron drooped. "You have to finish your essays and Harry will be back soon. I can talk to him then."

Ron barely had time to sigh and pick his quill back up before someone crashed into the common from, the portrait crashing into the wall with the force of their entry, which made the Fat Lady exclaim in annoyance. Looking up at the distraction Ron was surprised to see Ginny.

"What's wrong?" he asked his out of breath sister.

"I just... saw Harry and mum," Ginny gasped out, flopping onto a seat.

"We know Harry's with mum," Ron said. "Dean and Seamus took him there."

Ginny shot him a glare, trying to catch her breath. Silently Ron and Hermione waited, wondering what was wrong. Surely she hadn't run full pelt all the way up here just to tell them that.

"Mum looked really mad," Ginny said. "Madder than I've ever seen her. She took Harry to Professor Dumbledore."

"Was she mad at Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Ginny said with a shrug. "I just... think there was something really wrong."

For a moment the three sat in quiet, thinking about this. It was different when Harry wasn't here at times like these; he was usually the one who would jump up and state that they needed figure out what it was...

Hermione jumped to her feet, startling the Weasley siblings.

"Let's go," she said abruptly, already striding across the room.

"Where?" Ron asked dumbly as Ginny got up and followed.

"To find out what's happening of course," Hermione said, opening the portrait and disappearing outside. Ginny grinned and followed.

Ron sat there and shook his head. He had thought it before, and now he was absolutely certain of it; Harry and Hermione definitely had been spending far too much time together.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Hermione, Ron and Ginny would never tell another soul exactly how long it took them to guess the password to Dumbledore's office. Needless to say they were there far longer than they felt they should have been and it was in embarrassment that they finally scurried up the spiral staircase.

Unlike Harry the three students had not been in Dumbledore's office numerous times. For Ron it was only the second time, for Hermione and Ginny it was the first. Had their minds not been so occupied with what awaited them at the top of the stairs they might have been a bit more interested in what was going on around them.

Hermione, in particular, was anxious. Was Harry still up here? She didn't want to barge in on a meeting that Professor Dumbledore and Molly Weasley were having, but her concern for Harry overrode any worry she might have had about that.

Finally they reached the doors. Not even bothering to knock Hermione inched the door open slightly and peered inside.

The first thing she noticed was that it was absolutely absent of any adults.

Her eyes then zoomed in on Harry, who was crouching underneath a table, carefully eyeing the red phoenix (part of her felt thrilled that she would get to meet the phoenix Harry had spoken about) that was flying slowly about. Were they here by themselves?

She opened the door further, reassured that Dumbledore was not going to pop out of nowhere and tell her that she shouldn't be there. Ron and Ginny peered over her shoulders.

Suddenly, with a trilling cry, the phoenix dove to the floor and pulled up sharply, hovering in front of Harry. The shriek it gave then was undeniably triumphant.

"Aww..." Harry said disappointedly, scrambling out from under the table. "Your turn, Fawkes." He covered his eyes. "One... two... three..."

The three students watched in dumb-struck awe, not sure what to say.

"Are they... playing hide and seek?" Ginny finally whispered.

"Looks like it," Ron whispered back.

Hermione was trying to reconcile her knowledge of the great and powerful phoenixes with the image of this one hurriedly darting into a cupboard. It wasn't working.

It took them until Harry managed to find Fawkes that the teenagers were able to move, and they stepped into the room slowly, instantly catching the attention of the two occupants. For a moment Harry stared... and then his eyes lit up.

"Ron! 'Mione! Gin-gin!" he said cheerfully. "Will you play with us?"

Of everything Hermione had been expecting, it was not that. She had been sure that Harry would still be upset with them, but he was acting like that morning had never happened.

"In a little while, Harry," she said slowly, crouching down beside him. "Do you know where Mrs Weasley and Professor Dumbledore are?"

"No," Harry said with a shrug. "They said they'd be back."

"Did mum seem... upset?" Ginny asked.

"Uh huh," said Harry, eager to impart his knowledge. "She was _mad._"

"What about, Harry?" Hermione asked as Ron and Ginny joined them on the floor. Fawkes flew down from his perch on the rafters and fluttered down beside Harry's kneed.

"I dunno," Harry said, making the three teenagers deflate. "She was real mad. What does a-bu-sive mean?"

Hermione tensed, looking at the innocently curious green eyes staring up at her. When and where had he heard that word?

"Who said that?" she asked warily.

"Mama Molly," Harry said. "She said to Granpa... she said it wasn't best to leave him in an a-bu-sive home."

From the way he was saying it he was obviously quoting something that he had heard. So, Mrs Weasley had come up here and yelled at Professor Dumbledore, mentioning something about someone having been left in an abusive home...

"Then where did she go?" Ginny asked as Hermione's mind whirled with the thoughts she wasn't sure she liked.

"To Padfoot and Moony," Harry said proudly. "Granpa said they would be back."

"Did Professor Dumbledore go with her?" Ron asked.

"Yep."

Obviously bored with the conversation Harry began gently petting Fawkes, who crooned under the gentle touch. Hermione watched him with worried eyes.

"Harry, did Mrs Weasley ask you about the Dursleys?" she asked, hoping to god that her instincts were wrong this once.

When Harry tensed she knew she was right.

"Yes," he said cautiously.

Hermione didn't say anything; she didn't need to. Instead she reached out to him and gathered him up into a hug, trying to convey all the warmth and love she could with it. Harry relaxed instantly, not sure why she was suddenly hugging him but liking it just the same.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, confused.

Ginny's expression cleared and she turned away, hoping to hide the thunderous expression on her face. The hand that she laid on Ron's shoulder to prevent him from asking anymore was shaking slightly.

For long moments the four of them sat or stood in silence, Fawkes waiting patiently next to Harry's knee. Finally Harry wriggled out of Hermione's arms, upturned face curious.

"Harry, I'm really sorry I got so mad at you earlier," Hermione said, ruffling his hair and giving him a tremulous smile. "And you know I'll never, ever leave you alone, right?"

She wasn't to know that she had suddenly touched on and alleviated one of little Harry's fears. But she did know she had done something write when he offered her a blinding smile.

"Thanks, 'Mione," he said quietly, shyly slipping his hand into hers. "I know."

For just that one moment he seemed older than he looked, more like the sixteen year old that he had been only a few months ago, his green eyes glittering with knowledge beyond his physical age. And then he smiled again and the image was lost.

"Want to play?" he offered.

"I don't want to play hide and seek," Ron muttered, embarrassed, but Harry luckily did not hear.

Fawkes did, however. With a devious glint in his beady eyes he hopped closer to Ron and gave his foot a very sharp and bruising peck through his shoe, causing the red-head to yelp. Ginny smirked.

"We'd love to Harry," Hermione said, ignoring what was happening. "Who needs to count?"

"I think Ron does, don't you?" Ginny asked slyly.

"Ok!" Harry cheered, scrambling to his feet. "Close your eyes, Ron!"

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Whistling softly to himself as he approached the stone gargoyle guarding his office Dumbledore gave the password and let the stairs carry him to the top. He could not deny that he felt a strange uplifting feeling as though a great burden had been pulled down from his shoulder.

Truly he despise all forms of muggle baiting, and fought against it at every possible turn. This time, however, this one time, he would make an exception to that rule.

Still thinking about the Dursleys he almost missed the sound that came from his office. Ceasing his whistle he listened hard. Yes, there it was again, a soft giggle.

He could have passed it off as Harry had a distinctly feminine voice not said directly after "you got me". He was certain it was _not_ Harry, who he had left in the office with Fawkes, so he carefully walked over to his ajar office door and peered inside.

He was surprised to see three more teenagers than he had expected inside. Currently a grumbling Ron Weasley was covering his eyes and counting exasperatedly as Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Fawkes hurried for hiding spots in his vast office.

Dumbledore's lips twitched into a smile as he pulled back. For a moment he contemplated what he had seen and then he turned and walked away, pulling a lemon drop from his pocket.

He would let them play for a little while longer.

**Next Chapter; **_Chapter Twenty-Five; Slitherin' Nonsense;_Harry runs into Mason, which does not impress Ron in the slightest. Furious Harry runs after Mason and runs into some more trouble with some not-so-nice Slytherins.

**A/N; **So many reviewers! I think we hit a record for this chapter! There are just a few things I'd like to address. Firstly, someone asked me about the Malfoys and the outside world and about the presence of the Weasleys. Honestly, I had the Weasleys arrive simply because I wanted them there at the time :) As for Malfoy and everything else; let's just pretend Dumbledore prevented it, okay? Don't worry, I will be dealing with all those issues in the coming chapters.

I'm glad everyone liked what happened to the Dursleys, though someone even said they deserved more! That made me laugh. And someone gave me an excellent idea of Harry versus the twins… oh, the possibilities. Thanks warrior.831!

Finally, I'm fielding it to all of you to give me ideas about what Dumbledore did to Petunia. I have a very vague idea, and I want to start hinting at it, but I'd like to no one the lot of you would like to see from him. So let me know!

I'm sorry I'm not going to individually name you all tonight, but I will make up for it in the next chapter and thank you all then as well as the reviewers for this chapter. Thank you to all of you though; your reviews brighten my day!


	25. Slitherin' Nonsense

**Disclaimer;** You know the drill :)

**A/N; **Aha ha ha…. Oops? Not only has it nearly been a year (a _year_? How did time go by so quickly? I could have sworn it was only five months ago that I last updated…) but I completely forgot to read my own summary for this chapter and it turned out a little differently than what I said it would. Though it has the essentials! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I offer you all my heartfelt apologies for taking so long.

**Chapter Twenty-Five; Slitherin' Nonsense**

If you were to ask Ron Weasley he would say that he had put up with a lot while he was with Harry Potter, and that wasn't only talking about his more... diminutive stature these last few months. No, in all the time Ron had known and was friends with Harry each situation that they got involved in was wilder, wackier and more intense than the last.

Ron would also say that he liked to think that he had handled most of these things quite calmly. After all, it wasn't every eleven year old that would sacrifice himself in a game of chess against giant stone people. Nor would just any twelve year old bravely (or foolishly, depending on your way of looking at it) attempt to follow their best friend into the Chamber of Secrets where a deadly basilisk was waiting so they could rescue their sister.

Naturally there were moments he weren't proud of. Fourth year stood out the most in his mind, but Ron tended to make an active effort to forget about that. It had been a moment of very poor judgement on his part, and that was all he was willing to say about it.

Even this year, when Harry had turned into a toddler and things had turned just plain _weird_, he felt he had handled it quite well. He had kept a level head even when Hermione lost it, he had put up with his wand being stolen, with sugar rushes, child angst, their potions professor seeming to hold a dire wish to murder his small charge, and, just the other day, even being caught playing Hide and Seek by the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Yes, he had put up with a lot. And if he could put up with all that then _surely_ there was nothing else that could surprise/shock/dismay him now. They had to be due for a break at some point, right?

Unfortunately for Ron the world had not yet finished with Harry and where the black-haired wizard went the red-head would also be dragged.

This particular day started out normal (or, as normal as it could get with a toddler who used to be a teenager underfoot) in that Ron opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, mentally going over all the things that he had to do today. They had Transfiguration first up, didn't they? That's right, he had done his homework last night.

'_Wait...'_

Ron turned his head and looked at the watch Harry had given him for his birthday last year. It was eight o'clock in the morning and today they were due back at classes. He blinked and sat up... where was Harry?

It took him a moment to remember that, since the potion had turned him eight, Harry had stopped jumping on him in the mornings. On one hand he was glad, but that had been during the holidays. Somehow, on the school day, he couldn't help but miss it.

With a yawn he pulled open his curtain and started upon seeing Harry sitting in bed, a book open on his lap. It was one of the picture books he had been given at Christmas, and he seemed perfectly content to sit there and read quietly, though he was frowning this morning for some reason and his eyes were focused on one spot on the page.

"Morning, Harry," he said.

"Morning, Ron," Harry said distantly.

Ron's heart jumped. That simple greeting sound _so much_ like the sixteen year old Harry that, for a brief moment, he could almost pretend that his best friend was back to normal...

But, no, Harry was still eight, and the sight before him wouldn't tell him anything different. Ron shook his head and slipped out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

"School goes back today," he said flippantly.

"I know; 'Mione said so," Harry said, looking up at him and smiling. "I'm ready."

Ron took a second look and realised it was true. Harry was already dressed and ready to leave; evidently he had only been waiting for Ron to get up and go with him downstairs.

Yet another similarity. More times than Ron could count Harry had been up before him and dressed, waiting for him. Each time Hermione scolded them about being late, and not once did Harry ever tell her what really happened.

Ron frowned as he reached for his clothes. Perhaps Harry was starting to remember some of those instincts? Perhaps he was doing things that he used to do without realising why. Hadn't Dumbledore mentioned that the sixteen year old Harry was still in there, just locked away and waiting to be broken out?

Wait, did that mean that sixteen year old Harry was actually aware of everything that was happening? Had he simply gone to sleep or was he watching it all, helpless to do anything because he couldn't get himself out?

Ron shuddered and shoved that train of thought away. It was too terrible to even contemplate, and he hoped that it most definitely wasn't true.

"Ron?"

Ron blinked and turned around, his tie hanging off his arm. Harry was frowning at him now and, for a heart-stopping moment, Ron thought he was going to tell him to stop thinking so hard, as he often had when he noticed the red head was deep in unpleasant thoughts.

"Ron, my eyes hurt," he said, pouting.

Ron blinked, processed the sentence and then his whole body relaxed. Right, right, dealing with eight year old Harry. Wait... eyes hurt?

"Your eyes hurt?" he asked dumbly.

"Yeah, they're all itchy," Harry complained, rubbing at both eyes.

"Oh," Ron said, thinking. And then... "OH! Right, I think I can fix that, Harry." He frowned. "Just wait until I get dressed and we'll go talk to Hermione."

Ron didn't think he had ever gotten changed faster. After all, if Harry really _did_ need his glasses again then they needed to give Hermione time to go get them so they could have breakfast before class started.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked the moment they entered the common room, a little worried by Ron's grim expression.

"Harry's eyes hurt," Ron explained.

Hermione sighed and put her book aside. "Well, we knew it was coming. Give me a second, I'll be right back."

Harry scrambled up onto the lounge and looked curiously at the large Ancient Runes book Hermione had been reading as his bushy-haired friend rushed upstairs. Ron sighed and flopped down in an armchair.

"Your eyes will be better in a minute," he told Harry. "Are they blurry?"

"A little," Harry admitted.

"Here we go!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing back down the stairs; Ron thought, amazed, that that had to be a record she was so quick. She held out the round glasses. "Here, Harry, try these on."

"Glasses?" Harry asked, making a face. "Do I have to?"

It was almost cute, the childish disdain on his face. Hermione giggled and nodded her head.

"Sorry, Harry, you definitely need these," she said.

Harry pouted but took them, sliding them onto his face. For a long moment everything was silent between the three and then Harry frowned.

"Still blurry," he announced.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other in shock. But... those were Harry's glasses! How were they still causing his vision to be blurred? They had to work!

Suddenly Hermione hit her forehead with her palm in exasperation.

"Harry isn't sixteen anymore," she groaned. "His prescription probably changed between eight and sixteen."

Ron felt incredibly stupid; they should have thought about that. But they had just assumed that Harry would be able to have the same glasses and be done with it.

"Right, we need to get him down to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said, plucking the glasses off Harry's face and tucking them into her pocket. "She'll know what to do."

"What about class?" Ron asked, not that he cared; if this got him out of some of class then he was all for it. Then again, this would also mean missing breakfast...

His stomach growled slightly at the thought.

"Well, we'll try to be quick, but there's no helping it if we can't," Hermione said reluctantly. It was, after all, the first day back at class and she didn't really want to miss anything. "Come on, let's go."

Ron's stomach growled again miserably as though it realised it wasn't going to get food any time soon. With a sigh he followed. Maybe he would be able to snatch something quickly before class...

The trip to Madam Pomfrey's did one thing, though, apart from making them miss out on breakfast. It showed them just how fast and quickly Harry's sight had degenerated, and seemingly overnight.

At first they let Harry walk unaided as he had started doing since he turned eight. After the third close call with a wall, the fifth almost tumble with another student, and the heart-stopping moment when he had almost walked straight into thin air at the top of the magically moving staircase, though, Hermione and Ron firmly grabbed his hands.

"How did his eyesight get so bad so quickly?" Hermione asked, frustrated. "He was fine yesterday! Wasn't he?"

"He wasn't running into things yesterday," Ron said with a shrug.

"Which is worrying," Hermione said, turning her head to glare at him. "It means that something could have gone seriously wrong with the potion!"

"Or it could just mean that Scarhead was always meant to be a four-eyed freak."

Ron knew he shouldn't stop, knew that the most important thing right now was to get Harry to the hospital and then hurry to what was left of class, but he couldn't help it. The voice grated on his nerves the moment it sounded and he froze in his tracks, causing Harry and Hermione to be pulled up short since they were all connected by their hands.

His free hand plunged into his robes and grasped his wand as he turned and faced the smirking wizard who was leaning casually against a nearby wall. Had he been there when they passed and they had been too preoccupied to notice?

"Say that again, Malfoy," he growled.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "We have to go!"

"Yes, Weasel, follow your girlfriend," Draco Malfoy sneered, pushing off the wall. "She obviously knows better."

Ron saw red, though he didn't know whether it was from anger or embarrassment. His wand was in his hand and pointing at the Slytherin, despite Hermione's exasperated cry. Malfoy's followed barely a second later.

"Remember the last time?" Malfoy asked unpleasantly. "Didn't it send your girlfriend to the hospital wing? Oh, wait, I forgot, that was only because you relied on _Potter_ to help you."

Out of the corner of his eye Ron saw Harry's head turn curiously at the sound of his own last name. Green eyes blinked owlishly at them and he tilted his head slightly.

"Green?" he asked, tugging on Ron's hand.

It was enough to distract him from his fury. Ron paused for a second and then looked down at Harry. Even Malfoy seemed to have paused.

"What's green?" he asked, confused.

"His robes," Harry said impatiently, giving Ron's hand another hard tug. "His robes have green on them!"

"I... well, yes, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Harry looked up at Ron seriously. "He's Slytherin. Like Mason."

Ron looked at Hermione, who shrugged. Then, before he could stop himself, he looked at Malfoy, who looked equally non-plussed. Seeing that he was only getting blank stares for his troubles Harry scowled at the three of them.

"Mason is a _good_ Slytherin," he said, and then he turned toward Malfoy. "Are you?"

Malfoy almost dropped his wand in surprise at the sudden question. But he didn't have any time to answer because two others suddenly rounded the corner.

"Draco, what's keeping you?" demanded Pansy Parkinson, her voice high and unpleasant. "You were supposed..." She stopped and sneered. "Oh, it's Potter and the mudblood and her weasel boyfriend."

Blaise Zabini simply rolled his eyes and yawned slightly, evidently not wanting to get into a fight. Malfoy looked at them, still seeming a bit startled.

"You take that back!" Ron snarled, lifting his wand again.

"Oh, honestly, Ron!" Hermione huffed. "_Ignore_ them!"

But Ron couldn't ignore them, he just couldn't. He hated insults to himself, but nor would he stand for those that would insult his friends as well. It just depended, now, on who made the first move.

Wait...

Realisation hit Ron in a flash. They _couldn't_ duel here. Even ignoring the school rules they had a _child_ with them, and it would not be good to let him caught up with it all. Slowly, reluctantly, Ron lowered his wand slightly.

"What's going on here?"

Ron almost had a heart attack as another figure rounded a corner. It was not anyone he knew, but he was a tall seventh year in Slytherin robes. He and Malfoy both still had their wands out, but how could he expect any Slytherin to be biased against their own house?

"Mason!"

In a blur of motion Harry released his friends' hands and dashed toward the tall Slytherin. Because they hadn't expected it Hermione and Ron hadn't had a very good grip on his hands, so they could only watch dumbly as he raced past Malfoy, Parkinson and Zabini and threw his arms around the knees of this 'Mason'.

Mason looked surprised for a second and then he smiled and laughed, leaning down to ruffle Harry's messy hair. The child pulled back and beamed at him.

"You're looking a bit bigger, Harry," Mason observed. "How old are you now?"

"Eight!" Harry declared proudly. "I'm closer to your age now, Mason!"

"I see," Mason said, chuckling. He looked up at the five dumb-struck teenagers. "Any trouble to report here, Harry?"

"Ron and Blondie pulled out their wands, and that girl said _bad_ words," Harry replied, hushed, and then he smiled. "But it's all okay now!"

"I see," Mason said, nodding. "Well, I would thank those two to put their wands away-" From the way it was said it was definitely _not_ a request, and Malfoy and Ron hastily shoved their wands in their pockets "-and for the young lady to watch her language around young children."

He smiled at them all, but it was not a nice smile and Parkinson could do more then nod back at him silently. The quiet was only broken when Blaise covered his mouth and coughed – Ron could have sworn he saw a slight smile.

"If that's all," Mason said, gently detaching himself from Harry. "I have to be off. Be good in class, Harry."

"Sure!" Harry chirped.

As quickly as he had appeared Mason disappeared, leaving five shocked sixth years and one cheerful eight year old in his wake. Malfoy was the first to wake up.

"That's... that's the 'good' Slytherin, Potter?" he asked.

"Yep!" Harry said happily, turning and running back to his best friends. "See you, Blondie!"

He grabbed Hermione and Ron's hands again and tugged them along, which wasn't difficult because the two teenagers were still in too much shock to really do anything but follow. Within moments there were gone, leaving behind the three Slytherins.

Malfoy blinked after them.

"Blondie?" he asked, half-shocked, half-scandalised.

Zabini finally left out a snicker that had been building, though it went unnoticed by the other male who was still mouthing the one word to himself.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

"Slytherins, Harry, really?"

It was the first thing out of Ron's mouth when he regained his senses moments before the hospital wing was in sight. Hermione, who had sighed and decided that it was just one of those odd moments that surrounded Harry seconds after they had disappeared from the Slytherins' sight, just glared at him.

"So what?" she said. "Mason seemed nice. He was probably one of those people that helped Harry get up to Professor Dumbledore's office on New Years."

"What do you mean 'so what'?" Ron yelped, staring at her as if she had gone crazy. "Slytherins are anything but nice! Or have you forgotten what the lot of them have done over the years?"

"I hardly think a small ground of people around our age should help us form our opinion of Slytherin as a whole," Hermione said dryly.

"What about Snape, then?" Ron asked stubbornly. "And You-Know-Who? And all his Death Eaters?"

"Still a minority, Ron. Grow up."

Ron shot her a glare for this comment. He was plenty grown up! It was hardly his fault that Slytherins were all a bunch of evil gits.

"Mason's my friend," Harry said, glaring up at him.

"Not you too," Ron groaned, barely realising that they had stopped. "Look, Harry, Slytherins do some really nasty things, so you shouldn't be friends with them."

"Ron!" Hermione cried, horrified. "Don't tell him that!"

But she needn't have worried. Harry, furious over the slight to his friend, pulled his hand out of Ron's grasp and stamped his foot down on Ron's.

Hard.

"OW! What the hell, Harry?" Ron howled, jumping away.

"Leave Mason alone!" Harry shouted at him. "He's my friend!"

Ron might have said something back, if only because he was caught into the argument and it was all too easy to pretend that he was arguing with an older Harry. But Hermione's hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up at her, grimacing.

"Maybe you should get some breakfast and go to class," she said. "I'll take Harry to Madam Pomfrey."

Ron stared at her and then frowned. That hadn't sounded like a casual suggestion.

"You might need..." he began.

"I don't think so," Hermione said somewhat coolly. "Madam Pomfrey and I can handle it. Go to class, Ron."

That one was definitely a demand. Ron paused for a moment and then deflated. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go and cool down before he started yelling at an eight year old. On top of that a niggling point of logic was attempting to point out that Harry, who was currently eight years younger, was actually showing more maturity over this matter than he was.

"I... fine," he sighed. "I'll find out what happened later. See you, Hermione, Harry."

"We'll be in class soon," Hermione promised.

Harry simply turned his head away, stubbornly giving him the silent treatment. Ron couldn't help but smile slightly at this; Harry always had been incredibly stubborn when he was sure he was in the right.

"Mason is my _friend_," he heard the little boy say to Hermione as he walked away.

"I know," Hermione replied. "And Ron knows it too."

'_Really?'_ Ron thought. He had a lot of thinking to do before he saw Harry again, and he had to do it quickly.

And foremost would be on how, exactly, to apologise to his small charge.

**Next Chapter; **Harry and Hermione visit Madam Pomfrey and finds out something odd about his fast deteriorating eyesight. Meanwhile Ron, in a bad mood, runs into Professor McGonagall.

**Thanks to;**

Stefunny2010, Teufel1987, Wonderbee31, Casse01, Bruder-aus-Osten-und-Westen, Lientjuhh, allora123, USA-Jeanette, snapes wife to be, Pince Raistlin, moony-as-a-girl, charming2drew, The Lady Reaper of the Shadows, gauravmittal2, missny1, Leah, Credo-Spero-Fides, JNottle, .Angel, Obsessed-With-HarryandDraco, E., Sanity is for losers, MaraudersNumber1Far, Peltra, Crazy909, lmill123, Karou WindStalker, Danyael Prince, Tony WildRiver, FallenHope-Angel, shiftyless, lunathevamp, Nerds will rule the world, Mrs. Kisa Black, Memory25, L'uke-chan, and NCIS-CSI-SVU

Wow, so many people; all of you, as well as everyone who is just reading, have contributed to where this story is now, and I'm sorry for making so many of you wait for so long. The rest of the story is entirely planned out now, though so updates should come quicker! Thank you for being so patient with me.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer; **I don't own anything except the original characters

**A/N;** I know it's been a few months, and this chapter has probably been waiting that long too for me to edit it. Unfortunately I got bogged down in work. Anyway, I hope everyone has a good Christmas and an awesome new year :) Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Six; **

Harry was generally cheerful, particularly since he had been de-aged, so it was somewhat odd to see him in a bad mood as they walked the rest of the way to the hospital wing. And it wasn't the tantrum-throwing, obstinate kind of bad mood Hermione had come to expect from him lately either. It was the sulky, broody bad mood that she had come to associate with his older self when he wasn't happy with something.

It was strange to see this sort of bad mood on a child. For all his ever-changing moods and constant upheavals, little-Harry wasn't really the sort to hold a grudge for very long. This kind of mood told Hermione, in no uncertain terms, that he was settling down for the long haul.

"Harry, Ron didn't mean it, you know," she said gently.

"Yes he did," Harry said stoutly.

Well, yes, he _had_ meant every word he said, so it was a little hard to argue against that, particularly when he stated it with such conviction. Still, Hermione had to try, for Ron's sake.

"Ron's just..." she began, searching frantically for the right term.

"Stupid?" Harry offered.

"Yeah... we'll go with that," Hermione sighed, though she couldn't prevent her lips twitching slightly as she fought with a smile. "He just doesn't like a lot of changes, that's all. He'll come round."

Harry pursed his lips and looked the other way.

"Will you accept it if he apologises?" she asked.

"Maybe," Harry sniffed.

Which was as good as a 'yes' most of the time, in Harry's book. Hermione sighed somewhat in relief and shook her head. Ron really was an idiot, but she hoped he was smart enough to know to apologise to the eight-year-old.

A little glumly she pushed the hospital wing doors open when they reached them. Ron had been a little more mature this year, particularly with taking care of Harry, but when he got this irrational there was no way he was going to choose the smarter option.

"Ms Granger, Mr Potter, what can I do for the two of you?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking up from a book she was writing in as they entered.

"Well, Harry needs glasses again, but his old ones aren't working," Hermione explained.

"I see," Madam Pomfrey standing up and moving to a white bed. "Hop on up here then, Mr Potter, and we'll have a look at you."

Silently Harry let go of Hermione's hand and he scrambled up onto the bed. Madam Pomfrey looked at the quiet, brooding child and then glanced questioningly at Hermione.

"He and Ron had... an argument," Hermione explained, wondering if explaining it as an 'argument' was truly suitable for what had happened.

"Right then," Madam Pomfrey said with a nod, pulling out her wand. "Now, Harry, I want you to look straight at the tip of my wand, okay?"

"Okay," Harry said, doing as he was told.

Madam Pomfrey muttered a spell under her breath and held the wand steadily pointed at Harry's green eyes. The tip briefly glowed a very weak blue and then went out. At first Hermione thought that was it and then Madam Pomfrey frowned and tried it again.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked tentatively after the third time the nurse tried the spell and got the same result.

"Nothing," Madam Pomfrey said, frowning.

Hermione waited for a moment, hoping that the woman would explain what had her so unnerved if nothing was wrong. But when Madam Pomfrey simply tried the spell again she realised she was going to have to ask.

"That's a good thing, right?" she asked. "That nothing is wrong?"

"Normally," Madam Pomfrey agreed. "But the spell should be indicating that _something_ is wrong, and it isn't." She turned to Hermione. "How did you know that Mr Potter needed his glasses?"

"He was complaining about his eyes hurting," Hermione said, glancing at Harry, who was looking a little bored. "He almost ran into anything that was in his path; we had to lead him here. It was... a very fast deterioration from yesterday."

"I see..." Madam Pomfrey said slowly. She thought for a second and then conjured a smoky letter G in the air as she turned back to Harry. "Mr Potter, what letter do you see?"

Harry stared up at the letter and then he squinting, scrunching his nose up slightly as he did so.

"...C?" he asked tentatively.

Madam Pomfrey frowned yet again and conjured another letter, this time the letter R. "What about this one?"

"Uh... K? B? R? It looks like them all," Harry replied, squinting again. "I think?"

Hermione glanced at the letter. It was very clearly a letter R, no 'maybes' about it. At least it was the third guess. Still, it was a good indication of just how far his eyesight had deteriorated in so little time; he had been happily reading a book without any trouble just yesterday.

"So, he needs glasses?" Hermione asked, wincing slightly as she stated the obvious.

"The physical evidence suggests so," Madam Pomfrey agreed, and then she tried the spell from before again. She sighed. "The magical eye test, however, does not."

Hermione blinked and tried to come up with a logical reason why a spell Madam Pomfrey had likely used hundreds of times before (well, maybe that was a _bit_ of an exaggeration...) would tell her Harry's eyes were fine when they were so clearly not. She came up with nothing.

"I don't understand," she said finally.

"I'm afraid I don't either, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey admitted. "The first time I could have explained away as miss-casting it. However... every time the result is the exact same. It should be telling me his eye prescription, and I cannot give him glasses unless I know what his prescription is."

"Do you have any muggle equipment that would work?" Hermione asked.

"I'm afraid not, though part of me wishes I did," Madam Pomfrey said, shaking her head. "Unfortunately it wouldn't work here at Hogwarts."

Of course. Hermione couldn't believe she had forgotten that; she felt like she spent half her life reminding Harry and Ron of that very fact because neither of them would read _Hogwarts, A History_.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" she asked.

"The only thing we can do," Madam Pomfrey said, and cast a summoning spell. A box zoomed out of her office and she opened it to reveal many different pairs of glasses. "We try every pair until Mr Potter tells us they work for him."

HPHGRWHPHGRW

Despite the fact that his stomach had been complaining not that long ago, Ron realised, as he walked down the stairs, that he wasn't actually hungry anymore. This, he could admit to himself, was more than a little strange; it would usually take something incredibly drastic to keep Ron away from food, and it would usually have to pull him kicking and screaming.

Still, he turned around anyway and began making his way to the transfiguration classroom, passing other students on their way to their own lessons. It was as he passed a second year Slytherin that he realised that his current problem was all to do with Harry.

Admittedly, recently, _all_ his problems had to do with Harry, but this one was special. Not only was the boy mad at him, but an _eight-year-old_ had shown more maturity than him. He would be seventeen soon... Hermione would never let him live it down.

Ron huffed to himself. It was all very well and good if Harry wanted to make new friends, but did he had to make friends with the Slytherins? Everyone knew that they were a bunch of sneaky, no-good, traitorous...

'_And how many Slytherins _do_ you know?'_ asked a little voice in the back of his head that sounded remarkably like an older Harry.

It was difficult to answer that one truthfully, because Ron _didn't_ know that many Slytherins, really. He knew Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle, and Snape, of course, and he knew _of_ You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters... but that was all really. He didn't know any others.

'_People have been Sorted into Slytherin and graduating Hogwarts longer than you've been alive. There's no way to know what every single Slytherin in the world was like.'_

Grudgingly Ron could admit that this was true. And, yes, maybe there was a good Slytherin here and there. After all, there were bad Gryffindors; just look at Peter Pettigrew!

Still, he didn't feel comfortable with his best friend, who was currently a vulnerable kid, befriending a Slytherin.

'_It's too black and white. Slytherin doesn't mean evil, nor does Gryffindor mean good.'_

"Shut up," Ron groused aloud.

"Excuse me, Mr Weasley?"

Ron's head shot up and looked at his Head of House, who was staring at him in some consternation. Realising that she thought he meant her Ron hastened to explain and hopefully get out of a detention.

"Oh, um, I was just thinking something I didn't want to think and I was... telling myself to shut up," Ron said, mentally reviewing the statement and realising that it didn't sound quite sane.

"I see..." McGonagall said. She looked at Ron piercingly. "Mr Weasley, your current distraction wouldn't have anything to do with your altercation with Mr Potter near the hospital wing, would it?"

Ron wished, more than anything at that moment, for the floor to just open up and swallow him whole. He couldn't believe she saw that. Maybe someone passing them by would be kind enough to just cast a Vanishing spell on him?

"I was just... I need to... I didn't..." Ron paused and deflated, giving up on trying to pull a reliable excuse from his already slightly muddled mind. "Yes, professor."

McGonagall made a sound in her throat that could have been either understanding or condemnation, depending on how it was translated. Ron decided, for his own peace of mind, that it was understanding. He shifted slightly under the intense stare she gave him.

"Mr Weasley, we often find that the conundrums our minds cook up are usually not quite as serious as they would have us believe," she said finally. "It is the simplest answer that is the best, and always the hardest to find."

Ron's first thought was to wonder when McGonagall had started channelling Dumbledore. Then he tried to work out what 'conundrum' actually meant. Upon realising that it was better translated as 'problem' (and he wondered why she couldn't just have _said_ that in the _first place_) he turned his thoughts to working out the riddle that was in her words.

Easiest answer? There were never easy answers to problems like this, were there? If there was an easy answer, then he wouldn't have spent the time it took to walk from the Hospital Wing to here with whirling thoughts and discarded solutions.

He hated Slytherins, because they had made their lives hell, and because the vast majority of them were Dark and would-be killers. And then this _Mason_ comes along, a fairly decent bloke, who upsets the applecart. Maybe the Sorting Hat just made a mistake with him?

But he couldn't rely on that either. If Mason was in Slytherin, then it was for good reason. Just as Ron was in Gryffindor for good reason. There had been something in him at eleven that the Hat had decided suited the house of snakes best.

But he was a _Slytherin_.

"You are still thinking too hard about it," McGonagall said disapprovingly, breaking into Ron's thoughts. "And I am sure everything you are thinking has to do with you, does it not?" She smiled slightly and put her hand on his shoulder. "Think about it, Mr Weasley."

She turned and walked away, leaving Ron more confused than ever. Of course he was thinking about himself, he had to try and work out his own hatred of Slytherins, and how this was effecting his judgement maybe just slightly, and how...

'_No, wait.'_

He was thinking too much about himself? There was a clue there, and Ron thought he might, finally, have figured it out.

Because it wasn't about him at all. His reaction didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, did it? Because _Harry_ was the one that had accepted and befriended Mason.

Was he really going to throw away Harry's friendship over a petty argument like this?

The thought hit him with the force of a sledgehammer and he almost dropped his bag. Harry _needed_ him right now, he needed Ron to be there and support him. What good was Ron if he was running away to sulk at the slightest notion that something wasn't going to agree with him.

Harry was Ron's best friend. Which meant that he needed to be where Harry was.

It wasn't a conscious decision. In two seconds he was turning away and striding in the direction of the Hospital Wing, not caring about missing Transfiguration or breakfast anymore.

Harry needed him, and that was all that mattered.

Not too far away Professor McGonagall walked into her classroom and smiled. She wasn't entirely sure, but she had a feeling that Ron Weasley wouldn't be in her classroom today.

HPHGRWHPHGRWHPHGRW

Sixteen.

Sixteen pairs of glasses, and they were still going. As she watched the process and aided when she was needed, Hermione appreciated muggle technology in a way that she never had before. It wasn't always reliable, but it made life a lot smoother sometimes!

Harry was looking particularly bored, swinging his legs slightly off the side of the bed as he waited and tried on various pairs of glasses. He didn't really want to wear glasses to start with, but anything that would get rid of the headache that was beginning to form was starting to look good to him.

"Madam Pomfrey, do you think the ageing potion might have something to do with this?" Hermione asked as they worked.

"I had considered," the matron admitted. "I think it is a combination of the original potion and the potions that he has been taking since. Think about it this way, Miss Granger. Mr Potter's body was already well-aware that he needed glasses, but suddenly he was changed to his younger self, before he had ever needed them. Now, as he approaches the age of his original self when he first received his glasses, his body is reminding us, in the only way it can, that something isn't right. Of course, we did already know that, so it wasn't needed. What is blocking my spell, I believe, is the magics that have intertwined Harry's original past self, his older present self, and his younger present self."

Hermione nodded slowly. She understood, though she hated how this had made their job that much more difficult.

"So, what happens when he returns to his original age?" Hermione asked cautiously. "Won't he need to change prescriptions then?"

"More than likely," Madam Pomfrey agreed. "But I cannot say what will happen then."

Suddenly the doors of the Hospital Wing swung open, causing the three of them to look up, half glad for the distraction. A sheepish red-head poked his head in the door and Harry's eyes narrowed slightly; even his blurry vision couldn't mistake _that_ shade of red.

"Uh, hi," Ron said with a weak smile, stepping fully into the wing. He cleared his throat and turned to his younger friend. "Look, Harry, I'm sorry. I thought about it, and I decided that I have to trust you to make your own decisions. When – _if_ – it goes wrong, then I've got your back."

There was a moment of long silence as Harry stared at Ron. Then he broke out into a smile, beaming at his best friend.

"Okay," he accepted happily.

Hermione gave Ron a look that clearly said _'be grateful he's eight; any older and you know he would have held a grudge'_. Ron grimaced slightly but nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, what are we doing?" he asked, looking around curiously.

"Finding Harry a pair of glasses by trial and error," Hermione explained, picking a pair out of the box. "Here, Harry, try these ones."

"Better," Harry said cautiously after he had put them on.

"At least we can rule out roughly half of these, then," Madam Pomfrey sighed, tapping the box with her wand and causing some pairs of glasses to shuffle forwards while the others shuffled back.

"Alright," Ron said, moving closer. "I'll help."

For about five minutes the three worked in silence except the occasional mutter when little to no results were yielded. Suddenly, though, Hermione thought of something.

"Madam Pomfrey, what age will Harry be when he takes the last potion?" she asked, her hands pausing in the act of pulling out yet another pair of glasses.

"A good question," Madam Pomfrey said absently as she handed Harry another pair.

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, his eyes wide. "It's really clear again!"

"Found them!" Ron cheered, who had found the last five minutes to be very, very dull.

"Good," Madam Pomfrey said, tapping the box again and making it close up again. She turned to Hermione then. "In answer, Miss Granger, we don't know. Obviously he was sixteen when he was deaged. To age him any more would be making him miss out on a year on his life, in a way, so we believe that he might be aged back to the age he was when he first took the potion. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed, watching as Harry jumped down off the bed. "It will be weird though; Harry was always the youngest, but if that happens then he'll be almost a year younger than us!"

"More, for me, if he hasn't gone back by March," Ron pointed out.

"Right," Hermione murmured.

"Miss Granger, don't dwell on it," Madam Pomfrey advised. "After all, we have yet to find the final potion. Now, off you go to class."

"Can I read too?" Harry said excitedly as they walked out. "'Mione, please?"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione said.

"Bloody hell, you're corrupting him, Hermione," Ron moaned, his voice fading as they left the wing.

Hermione's voice got fainter and fainter as she reprimanded the other teenager and Madam Pomfrey smiled. She felt, personally, that this had been the best thing for Harry. After all, he was so much happier now, happier even that the wide-eyed eleven year old who had been in awe of magic and a place to belong.

Yes, this couldn't have been better for him, and she intended on seeing him right through to the end.

HPHGRWHPHGRW

"Are you sure, Albus?"

"Positive," the headmaster sighed tiredly.

McGonagall's forehead creased in concern as she glanced at the report on Dumbledore's desk. So far they had kept all news of Harry leaking by subtly checking all owls that were sent out with the help of the House Elves. But now, it seemed, Voldemort had somehow gotten hold of this knowledge.

"Now what?" McGonagall asked quietly.

Dumbledore glanced at her. Voldemort had been so quiet recently as he planned and occasionally sent his Death Eaters to attack and terrorise, though they had managed to keep this from most of the children, particularly Ron, Hermione and Harry – they had quite enough on their plate. However they both knew now that Voldemort would try and seize this opportunity.

"We wait," he replied. "And protect Harry has best we can."

McGonagall nodded resignedly. It was, truly, all they could do right now.

**Coming Up; **_Chapter Twenty-Seven: _As Ron and Hermione suspect something important is happening Harry begins to explore more magical abilities, resulting in distracting them completely.

**Thanks to;**

honore, theoriginalolive, lily2010, Cream, Blood-MoonO230, Soappybubbles, I Just Won A Free Toaster Oven, HappilyBlue, MissiYoung, greenharper, Cred-Spero-Fides, AngusH, kookookarli, CatWriter, hebahz, Start,, FallenHope-Angel, Danyael Prince, Memory25, childofflameandwave, Callyn Daniels, shiftyless, Bruder-aus-Osten-und-Westen, Karou WindStalker, vinkunwildflowerqueen, Mikee, the bushy haired know-it-all, ArianaRae, Wonderbee31, Princess Aziza, smores503, Teufel1987, ParvisSira, CeKhay

There's so many of you following this, and I am sorry that I keep making you wait so long between chapters. Just a few brief points to answer since I didn't get a chance to answer each review individually;

I've had a few people asking about Voldemort lately – he is on his way, he was just running a little later. I started this story before the sixth book came out (though I started posting, I think, in 2006) and I have made the executive decision to either not mention Horcruxes or to have them destroyed on the side. Either way, a show down is coming, and certain characters are going to be _very_ instrumental in the coming parts :)

Just to remind you all that Harry will be returning to his normal age, though not before the end of the school year. Don't worry, I have a plan, and believe me when I say Hermione's influence hasn't been all for naught

I had a question or two about pairings – it will go no further than what has been alluded to. As such you may all make up what you like, I don't mind. But no one will be paired before the end of the story; after all, Harry is currently only eight and that would be slightly strange!

I think that's about it. Thanks for sticking with me so long; the rest of the story has been planned out for the most part (though I'm open to adding any ideas people might have if necessary to the plot) so all that remains is to write it. I aim to be better at updating next year and to get it finished with the next year too!


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